The Fighter and True Grit reviews
Feb. 19th, 2011 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThe Fighter is well written, well acted and well directed. Christian Bale does indeed provide an excellent portrayal of a crack-addicted has-been desperate to hog the limelight while avoiding all responsibility for anything. Mark Wahlberg's performance is certainly the quiet centre of the film that will probably get him upstaged come Oscar time. I would, however, contest Empire's assertion that the film is "uplifting, exuberant fun". It's not exactly unremitting doom and gloom, but it is mostly about the struggle to escape a misplaced sense of obligation towards an undeserving family (and the protagonist's mother and sisters are absolute horror shows) and to find a sense of self-worth that will enable great achievement. As that, it is extremely well done and I mostly enjoyed it.
From a solid delivery of consistently good film-making to a fantastic one hundred minutes let down by the last ten. I have never met a Coen brothers movie I've really liked (and I've actively disliked several of them) and yet, for some reason, I keep going back for more. For 90% of True Grit, I thought my perseverance had finally paid off in spades. It's brilliantly acted (particularly by newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who more than holds her own against Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon at the top of their game), really funny and highly enjoyable (barring one extremely unpleasant bit in the middle). The verbal and physical sparring between Cogburn and LaBoeuf (pronounced LeBeef) is fantastic, as is Mattie's skilful manipulation of pretty much everyone she comes across. She says she wants to hire Cogburn because people say he has "true grit" but, of course, it's really her that possesses the title characteristic, and she owns the film in its entirety. My favourite aspect of the film is the way all the characters talk. It's not realistic in any way - it could, in fact, be seen as stilted and quite ponderous, but for some reason it really appeals to me and added hugely to my enjoyment of the film overall.
And then there's the end. At the conclusion of the main action, something happens that was guaranteed to turn me off the film. No matter how much sense it makes in the circumstances (and it was entirely reasonable), there are some things a pony-loving girl just can't be rational about. However, because it made sense to the story, I could have forgiven it. Unfortunately, it was followed by a completely unnecessary and really annoying epilogue that used a film trope I always find very disappointing. As I discussed in my review of The Departed some time ago, I'm not sure if a bad ending entirely ruins an otherwise truly excellent film - but regardless of the verdict on that score, it's really damn irritating.
From a solid delivery of consistently good film-making to a fantastic one hundred minutes let down by the last ten. I have never met a Coen brothers movie I've really liked (and I've actively disliked several of them) and yet, for some reason, I keep going back for more. For 90% of True Grit, I thought my perseverance had finally paid off in spades. It's brilliantly acted (particularly by newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who more than holds her own against Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon at the top of their game), really funny and highly enjoyable (barring one extremely unpleasant bit in the middle). The verbal and physical sparring between Cogburn and LaBoeuf (pronounced LeBeef) is fantastic, as is Mattie's skilful manipulation of pretty much everyone she comes across. She says she wants to hire Cogburn because people say he has "true grit" but, of course, it's really her that possesses the title characteristic, and she owns the film in its entirety. My favourite aspect of the film is the way all the characters talk. It's not realistic in any way - it could, in fact, be seen as stilted and quite ponderous, but for some reason it really appeals to me and added hugely to my enjoyment of the film overall.
And then there's the end. At the conclusion of the main action, something happens that was guaranteed to turn me off the film. No matter how much sense it makes in the circumstances (and it was entirely reasonable), there are some things a pony-loving girl just can't be rational about. However, because it made sense to the story, I could have forgiven it. Unfortunately, it was followed by a completely unnecessary and really annoying epilogue that used a film trope I always find very disappointing. As I discussed in my review of The Departed some time ago, I'm not sure if a bad ending entirely ruins an otherwise truly excellent film - but regardless of the verdict on that score, it's really damn irritating.
