Movie · 2010 · Drama, Adventure, Western · 1h 50m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 7.6/10 (729K ratings)
Punishment comes one way or another.
Overview
Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.6/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.84/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Production
Scott Rudin Productions, Mike Zoss Productions, Skydance Media, Paramount Pictures
Cast
Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Jarlath Conroy, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Marvel, Roy Lee Jones, Ed Corbin, Leon Russom, Bruce Green, Candyce Hinkle, Peter Leung, Don Pirl, Joe Stevens, David Lipman, Jake Walker
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, character-rich western with sharp dialogue, strong atmosphere, and a standout star turn from Hailee Steinfeld. It plays like a classic frontier yarn, but with the Coens’ dry humor, moral bite, and exacting craft.
Best for
Viewers who like old-fashioned westerns with modern precision
Fans of strong female leads
People who enjoy sharp, quotable dialogue and dark humor
Anyone looking for a lean revenge-and-justice story
Skip if
You want a revisionist or action-heavy western
You dislike period dialogue and regional dialects
You prefer fast-paced plotting over deliberate storytelling
Overview
True Grit is a rare remake that feels both faithful and freshly alive. The Coens lean into the pleasures of a classic western: pursuit, vengeance, hard bargains, and the rough poetry of frontier speech, while keeping the tone dry, unsentimental, and quietly funny.
Worth noting
Hailee Steinfeld is the film’s engine, giving Mattie Ross a forceful intelligence that keeps the movie from ever becoming merely nostalgic. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon are excellent foils, and the film’s sense of place, music, and texture make the Old West feel tactile rather than decorative.
Bottom line
What lingers most is how assuredly it balances adventure with melancholy. It is a clean, elegant piece of storytelling that respects genre tradition without feeling dusty, and it remains one of the most satisfying modern westerns.
Top Letterboxd reviews
issy 🥝 · 3743 likes
now look I don't know anything about anything but I'm like 99% sure it's not supposed to be pronounced labeef
sophie (4★) · 2491 likes
my aesthetic is 13-year-old hailee steinfeld outshining everyone else in her first movie
fran hoepfner (4★) · 1632 likes
girls don't like clothes, they like hanging out with Jeff Bridges and threatening to sue people. forgot this is one of the best scores of last decade. won't make that mistake again!
David Sims (5★) · 1603 likes
if you would like to sleep in a coffin, it would be all right
Colin the dude (5★) · 1481 likes
"Time just gets away from us."
Only the Coens. The most authentic western in modern memory, only the Coens could accomplish what they do here and they warrant rewatchability to spare. For one, the Coens are masters of language. Always have been, always will be. The way they go about capturing the Old West linguistics and dialects and transplant them into unique and unusual accents of characters is an absolute treat to experience and in the process, transplants the viewer… more
2007 · Crime, Thriller, Western · 2h 2m · R · Curator 9.6/10 (3.1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
Shares the Coens’ precision, fatalism, and dry tension, with a relentless sense of pursuit and consequence.
1939 · Western, Adventure, Drama · 1h 36m · G · Curator 8.9/10 (149.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A foundational ensemble western that helped define the genre’s structure and momentum.