No Country For Old Men/ True Grit Review

• 9th Feb 2015

Paramount have released both of these award contenders from the Coen Brothers onto blue-ray, we are running a comp for people to win a set. Here’s what we made of them:

 

No Country For Old Men

Moss (Josh Brolin) happens upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wronmg. He finds himself with a case of money, but soon on the run from the wrong sorts who want the money back. Javier Bardem steals the show as the icy assassin on his trail, and Tommy Lee Jones turns up dependable as ever as a the Sherriff not far behind them.

But the film is almost as well known for its very sudden turn in the third act which left some viewers perplexed at the end. In retrospect it is an ending that is better served after second viewing and beyond. No Country is a solid and often tense thriller, and deserving of its acclaimed recognition.

 

 

True Grit

True Grit may not have been the big winner for the Coen Brothers, but by all rights it should have been. It’s a shame that the main character Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) was pushed to the backgroiund of the film’s marketing to make room for the big names of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin: all of whom are on fine form; But Steinfeld leaves you gobsmacked that such a young performer could put in such a strong and convincing performance.

Brolin plays the man responsible for murdering Mattie’s father, and so she sets off on a trail along with Bridge’s grumbly old buzzard Rooster Cogburn and Damon’s claim-seeker to hunt the man down.

What we get is a wonderful character piece that is littered with Coen Brother touches from start to end. The film is simply one of their best to date, perhaps released a little troo soon after No Country and therefore ended up a bit in its shadow. But True Grit is superior piece of film making.

 

 

 

Steven Hurst