True Grit [2010]
Not the overwhelmingly entertaining flick I had come to expect, but it’s nonetheless a funny and hearty Western take on karma, with a decidedly old-Hollywood feel and a lush score by Carter Burwell. The highlight of the film is, of course, Hailee Steinfeld in her breakthrough role as ‘Mattie Ross’, a firecracker of a young woman. She has the brio and confidence of an actress three times her age (and on her first movie role, no less). The fact that most awards have gone to scenery-chewing Melissa Leo (from The Fighter) instead of Steinfeld further proves there’s still considerable ageism in Hollywood. Hers is one of the best performances of the year so far. People need to forget she’s just 14 and embrace her for the fine actress she is. I mean, it’s no small feat stealing a movie from Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, who also shine here.
* SPOILERS *
I liked the film, but was disappointed with the ending. The whole movie was a buildup to an ultimate showdown that was no where near as spectacular as it could have been. Still I loved Hailee.
P.S. Ageism is discrimination against the elderly. Since Leo is older, she actually is benefiting from being older. Kind of a reverse ageism.
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Thanks for pointing that out, Mark. But I looked it up beforehand, and it said that while the word is mostly used to describe discrimination against older people, it can also be applied when talking about children or teens. And about the movie, I was actually not disappointed with the ending. I think the road that led to Chaney would be the real danger, not Chaney himself, and it was.
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