Newer Is Not Always Better

Over the past two nights, I watched both versions of True Grit starting with the 1969 movie and finishing with the 2010 interpretation. It may be hard to believe, but I’d never seen the original. How that happened, I do not know. There are vague memories of watching Rooster Cogburn as a child, but that’s as close as it gets.

Being a Coen brothers fan and not a John Wayne fan, I fully expected to prefer the newer film. Surprise! The original completely outclasses the new one in almost every area and is only inferior in the cinematography.

Now I understand why John Wayne got an Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn. Cast completely against type, he’s an utterly believable reprobate. In The Quiet Man, I’d seen that the famous star could actually act but I was unprepared for this performance. While Jeff Bridges was good in the part, Wayne’s version feels like a real person. If somebody had told me that I’d find Bridges’ performance inferior before this, I would have laughed in their face.

Glen Campbell gets the better of Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger, La Boeuf. Not quite as surprising as I always thought he was an underrated actor. This is no knock on Damon’s performance, by the way.

Kim Darby narrowly edges Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Both actresses were very good, but Darby more successfully channeled the very Protestant girl. Pretty impressive given she was so much older than the character. Both carried their respective movies, but Steinfeld was too pretty for the part. The young actress looks like she will be someone to watch in the future. Time will tell.

Robert Duvall as Lucky Ned Pepper is light years better than Barry Pepper (a Pepper playing a Pepper?  I want to be a Pepper too!). There is something so authentic about his portrayal that I have trouble describing it.

Jeff Corey is simply more memorable than Josh Brolin as Tom Cheney. He just was the better whiner, which is an odd thing to view as a plus. Brolin was enjoyable in the part.

Two major differences in the movies stood out to me other than changes in events.

The first is the pacing.  The older movie moves at a more leisurely pace, especially early on. That gave the feeling of a true journey while the pacing of the modern version rushed things.

Second, the script for the 1969 True Grit was better. The extended verbal clashes between Mattie and well, everyone else, were an absolute delight. Coen brothers weirdness didn’t work as well as it usually does, though I’ll give them credit for being much more restrained than normal.

While the 2010 film is good, the 1969 movie is truly great. I may have to add it to my DVD library.