Trama

A stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross 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. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross joins an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman in tracking her father's killer into hostile Indian territory in Joel and Ethan Coen's adaptation of Charles Portis' original novel. Sticking more closely to the source material than the 1969 feature adaptation starring Western icon John Wayne, the Coens' True Grit tells the story from the young girl's perspective, and re-teams the celebrated filmmaking duo with their No Country for Old Men producing partner Scott Rudin. Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper co-star.

1870 Fort Smith, Arkansas. With nothing but revenge to keep her going after the murder of her father by a once-trusted, cowardly snake, plucky fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross entices the mean, one-eyed U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn with a reward to hunt down her father's killer. As the excellent sharpshooter, Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, joins in, the unlikely trio forms a reluctant team and embarks on a peril-laden quest deep into the heart of the hostile Indian Territory to track down the murderer. However, the rugged wilderness is no place for a girl, and the odds are against them. Now, only vengeance matters. Is true grit enough to see justice served?—Nick Riganas

After an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, feisty 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice.—FilmsNow

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a 14-year-old from Yell County, Arkansas, is determined to avenge the murder of her father. Frank Ross was killed by his hired hand, Tom Cheney (Josh Brolin), after trying to dissuade a drunken Cheney from shooting a fellow card player who had allegedly cheated him. Cheney stole Ross's horse and fled the town. Mattie decides to take the investigation into her own hands.

Mattie travels to Fort Smith where her father was killed. She identifies his body. Mattie is a fearless bargainer. She sells her father's string of ponies back to the reluctant seller for $320. Mattie resolves to hire a U.S. marshal to pursue and catch Tom Cheney. After consulting the local sheriff, she settles on the marshal described as the meanest: Rueben "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). After trailing Cogburn to a saloon, she attempts to hire him but is rebuffed. Mattie makes a second attempt after a court hearing at which Cogburn was questioned, but Cogburn turns her down again, doubting that she actually possesses the fifty dollars she offered him as a reward for Cheney's capture.

A Texas Ranger, LaBouef (Matt Damon), takes a room at the boarding house and consults Mattie about her endeavor. LaBouef had been tracking Cheney for several months after Cheney had killed a Texas senator in an argument. He offers to combine his knowledge with Cogburn's to track Cheney down. Mattie rejects his offer. The following day, Mattie buys back one of her father's ponies to use on her journey, naming him Little Blackie. She speaks with Cogburn who has decided to accept her offer. Mattie threatens to report him to the sheriff if Cogburn leaves without her, he seemingly gives in and instructs her to be ready for the journey the next morning.

Mattie goes to Cogburn's lodgings, only to find he has left without her (with LaBouef). Angrily, Mattie follows his trail to a nearby river, spying the two men on the opposite bank. Mattie rides Little Blackie into the water and the two swim to the other side. Cogburn seems impressed by Mattie's gumption, but LaBouef is not. After an argument with Cogburn (whom he also dislikes), LaBouef abandons the mission, taunting Cogburn for being "hoo-rahed by a little girl."

Mattie and Cogburn continue the journey. Cogburn finds that Tom Cheney is near, and that he may have joined up with another outlaw, Lucky Ned Pepper, and his gang. Seeking shelter from the cold, the two discover a cabin at nightfall. Cogburn recognizes the pair of inhabitants as outlaws tied in with the Ned Pepper gang, one of them badly shot in the leg. Suspecting Ned and his gang will arrive at the cabin soon, Cogburn offers to take the injured man to a doctor and to give them some escape time if they provide information. The injured man, desperate for medical attention, begins to talk, but is stabbed by the other man, who is then shot dead by Cogburn.

Cogburn and Mattie hide in the bushes near the cabin, waiting for the gang to arrive. They first see LaBouef approach the cabin, continuing the search alone. However, the Ned Pepper gang arrives moments later and lassos LaBouef. From cover, Cogburn shoots two of the gang members (inadvertently winging LeBouef in the arm) and the others flee. He and Mattie take the injured LaBouef into the cabin. Cogburn drinks heavily throughout the night and is incredibly drunk the next morning.

After setting up camp in the woods that night, Cogburn becomes increasingly frustrated with their mission, claiming he has been dragged into "a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop." He bows out of the agreement, and LaBouef leaves again. Both men agree that Cheney's trail is cold. The next morning, Mattie goes to a nearby stream for water and notices a stranger there watering his horses. Shocked, she realizes it is none other than Tom Cheney himself. Cheney recognizes her and does not initially act hostile until Mattie pulls a revolver and attempts to take him into custody. An angered Cheney approaches with his rifle and Mattie fires, but only grazes his arm. Cheney drags her to the opposite bank, where the rest of the Ned Pepper gang has set up camp. Cogburn, having slept in the woods through the night, hears the commotion.

Lucky Ned Pepper, familiar with Cogburn, shouts across the stream to him and bargains Mattie's life for ample escape time. Cogburn agrees to not pursue the gang if Mattie is not harmed and appears to ride away over the hills. Pepper is impressed by Mattie's strength of will and assures her that she will not be hurt.

While Ned and the three other gang members leave to address finances, Cheney is ordered to stay with Mattie and to leave her somewhere safe. Cheney tries to get out of the assignment, but to no avail. Mattie, despite Lucky Ned's assurance, fears that Cheney will kill her once they are alone. After the gang departs, Mattie offers to give Cheney an affidavit if he sets her free. Cheney refuses, saying that all he needs is Mattie's silence. He attacks her and holds a knife to her throat, but is knocked unconscious by LaBouef, who had remained in the area and heard the gunshots. He says that Cogburn himself has arranged a showdown with Lucky Ned.

As Mattie and LeBouef watch from a hilltop, Cogburn comes face to face with Ned and the three other gang members. Having pursued Ned on and off for some time, Cogburn gives Ned the choice of being taken back to Fort Smith to be hanged, or to be killed on the spot. Pepper taunts Cogburn, who shoots, killing the three other men and mortally wounding Lucky Ned before falling from his horse and becoming trapped underneath. With his last moments of strength, Ned prepares to kill Cogburn. From the hilltop, LaBouef proves his shooting ability by making a 400-yard shot, shooting Lucky Ned off his horse before he can harm the marshal. Moments later, LaBouef is knocked unconscious by a now-awakened Tom Cheney, who attempts to grab LaBouef's rifle. Mattie intercepts and gets the gun herself, proudly shooting Tom Cheney at last.

Though her goal is completed, the blast from the gun sends Mattie stumbling backwards into a deep pit. She calls for help, but LaBouef is still out cold. Cogburn appears and begins to scale the side of the pit with a rope to rescue her, but Mattie's left hand has already been bitten by a rattlesnake. Cogburn retrieves her and temporarily treats her wound but knows he must get her medical attention quickly or she will die. A revived LaBouef hoists them out of the pit, and Cogburn and Mattie ride away on Little Blackie.

After miles of running, Little Blackie begins to suffer from exhaustion and eventually collapses. Knowing they cannot stop their journey, Cogburn shoots the horse and continues on, carrying Mattie himself. They soon reach a general store and Mattie is taken inside.

Twenty-five years later, 40-year-old Mattie (Elizabeth Marvel) looks back on her adventures. Her arm had been severely damaged by the snake bite and was amputated. She explained that Cogburn had departed by the time she came back into consciousness. After arriving home, Mattie had written to Cogburn, inviting him to visit her and collect his fifty-dollar reward, but he never responded or appeared. In the present, adult Mattie learns that the elderly Cogburn is a performer in a traveling wild west show, and finally exchanges letters with him, arranging to meet once again to swap stories. Arriving at the fairgrounds, Mattie is told that Cogburn had died three days earlier.

Mattie has Cogburn's body moved to her family plot. She reflects on her life; she never married and kept her no-nonsense attitude over the years. She never heard again from LaBouef but holds him in her memory. Mattie laments that "time just gets away from us."