***Just a heads up, this isn't anything new, it's just a copy/paste from the Last Film you Watched Thread in FAU. Just posting this here cause I liked it and for anyone that cares and missed it. I might add more at some point if I'm bored. There was a pic to top it off, but it's not working.***
My favorite part of True Grit was probably the structure of the film itself. The film has a very light tone to it at first glace thanks to the music, acting and humor. However, in the film, darkness always lies right around the corner. Comedy makes way for some fairly graphic scenes of violence that show the true, ugly, nature of the west. Take the hanging scene in the beginning. While the first man is fairly sincere with his final words, the second and third man's last moments are quite humorous which provides the audience with a nice laugh right before the men are killed right in front of us. Moments like these frequent the entire film until darkness consumes it near the end.
This structure closely parallels Mattie's views of the west, which are adjusted, along with the audience's, as the film progresses towards its fantastic finale. Mattie makes a remark early in the film relating tracking down Chaney to hunting raccoons with her father, "We had a lot of fun." This idea holds true through most of the film; it's a fun film that's very entertaining. However tracking and killing raccoons is a lot different than tracking and killing a man. Like what was said earlier, the light tone is constantly contrasted with gritty violence that slowly corrects Mattie's views as she begins to go through experiences that Rooster Cogburn is all to familiar with.
The story is ultimately one of maturation. Mattie is always trying to prover herself, she's trying to show that she's ready to be the head of the family and look after her mother and siblings now that her father is gone. Her education in the film is very important as she shows her smarts in the beginning of the film. She's more than capable of handling a civilized life, however the task at hand is one that requires more than just smarts and the film questions whether Mattie is truly capable of handling the toughness of the west. Anyway, it's a good story with some very powerful scenes.
The acting is something worth mentioning. It's really great, especially Bridges and Steinfeld. It's also very much stage acting and as you watch the characters and listen to the dialogue it starts to feel like you're watching a play. It's something I really liked actually, and was a big part of the humor of the film.
Another thing I really liked about the film was the sound. It was very dynamic. The guns in the film are really loud and really sound like they have some weight behind them, which is great as guns are the strongest force in the west. Every time one if fired, or being fired you can feel the intensity (gun shots actually made me jump a few times on my first viewing). Speaking of intensity, some of the scenes in the film are quite tense and the Coens do a great job setting up the more tense scenes.
True Grit is very much a Coen Brothers film. The humor and characters in the film have a very Coen feel to them with their dialogue and mannerisms (the bear suit comes to mind). Now it should be said that I haven't read the book so I don't know how much of this is due to the book and how much is actually due to the Coens direction, but either way, the material suits the Coens well. So overall I'll say I really enjoyed the film (especially after a second viewing). There's a lot to love about it and it's certainly one of my favorites of the year.
Oh and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, though this shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone. :P