I'm amazed at how many people that I talk to didn't know True Grit was a novel. They just tend to think it's a classic John Wayne flick that got remade last year. Well, I haven't seen the John Wayne version since I was little kid on my granddad's farm (he had all the John Wayne movies), so I can't judge that.
I loved the novel though. I was curious, after seeing the new film version, to see if the dialogue and voice used in the movie was really written that way in the novel. It really is, and I love it. To me, Mattie's narrative voice is one of the most unique in literature, certainly in books I've read. She comes across as a child beyond her years in some regards, but immature as well, and her strong will gets her into trouble a couple of times in the novel.
The 2010 version of the film follows fairly closely to the line of the novel, though the Coen brothers certainly put their stamp on it. They made it a bit more complex by adding to the conflict between Rooster and LaBoeuf. In the book, it really doesn't go much beyond words bantered back and forth, but they escalate it in the movie quite a bit. It certainly doesn't hurt the story at all. Also, though the description seems a bit sparse at times, but there are some truly beautiful passages describing the American heartland, which adds another unique touch to a great story.
Give it a shot, and see the movie!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment