True Grit

‘Aha!’ I thought as I walked. You ever have one of those, “duh” moments where the light comes on and you ‘get it’ just after every one else has gotten it, and gone home? I had one of those moments as I walked back to my car from the theater the other night after watching “True Grit.”

"Jeff Bridges should get an Oscar," I’d heard proclaimed. I considered this as the opening credits rolled and I finished my large popcorn and the last Junior Mint. This should be good, I thought. It had probably been 40 years since I'd seen the original, so I had to refresh my memory of the plot: young girl, Mattie Ross, employs notorious lawman, Rooster Cogburn to capture her father’s murderer because she'd heard he had Grit. As the lights dimmed and the movie got under way, I watched for grit. So did Mattie Ross. She watched with an unflinching eye. We both waited and watched. Bridges was in fine form as Rooster Cogburn, an incorrigible drunken lawman, but therein lay the problem: Cogburn was drunk and incorrigible. Where was the gumption? The stuff for which this movie was named? The stiff upper lip? I looked for any sign in Rooster of the ‘True.’ But he stumbled, then stumbled again, and then fell, whisky-drunk. Finally when the going got tough, and the trail turned cold, he gave up, but Mattie wouldn’t let him quit. No siree, Bob. She wasn’t about to give up. I was disappointed. There wasn’t enough shoot ‘em up, and I didn’t see any sign of legendary determination. Just a drunken quitter.

That’s because I looked in the wrong place. I had my ‘aha,’ palm-to-forehead moment as I walked back to the car. The Grit and Gumption was there the whole time. I’d stared at it for two hours, but didn't realize it.

The True Grit for which this story is named is in the petit form of Mattie played to perfection by 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld. This is Mattie’s story, and it’s good. She is fearless and tireless in her quest to see her father's murderer brought to justice. Tough as nails in business dealings, or on the trail of the killers. Mattie is True Grit, not Cogburn. He’s along for the ride to do the heavy lifting. Those of you who saw the movie probably got it right away, but I was slow on the draw this time, pard. The movie became so much better for me when I finally had that Aha!

And the Oscar goes to...

Hailee Steinfeld

Luke Saucier 1/17/2011