- 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
- In 1878, Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a fourteen-year-old from Yell County, Arkansas, is determined to avenge her murdered father. Frank Ross was killed by his hired hand, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), after trying to dissuade a drunken Chaney from shooting a fellow card player who had allegedly cheated him. Chaney stole Ross's horse and fled the town. Enraged that no one bothered to pursue or convict Chaney, Mattie takes the investigation into her own hands.
Leaving her mother and two younger siblings at home, Mattie travels to Fort Smith where her father was killed. Despite her tender age, Mattie is clever, confident, and an unshakable bargainer. She sells her father's now useless string of ponies back to the reluctant seller, Col. Stonehill (Dakin Matthews), and acquires three hundred and twenty dollars from the sale. Renting a room at a Fort Smith boarding house, where her father had been staying before his death, Mattie resolves to hire a U.S. marshal to track down Tom Chaney. After consulting the local sheriff during a public hanging, she settles on the marshal described as the meanest and most fearless: 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 gave testimony, but Cogburn turns her down again, doubting that she actually possesses the fifty dollars she offered him as a reward for Chaney's capture.
At the boarding house, Mattie is approached by a Texas Ranger, LaBouef (Matt Damon), who is aware of her mission to bring Tom Chaney to justice. LaBouef had been tracking Chaney for several months after Chaney had murdered a Texas senator. He offers to combine his knowledge with Cogburn's to track Chaney down. Mattie, put off by LaBouef's cocky attitude, 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 visits with Cogburn, who has decided to accept her offer, though he refuses to let Mattie accompany him as she had planned. After Mattie threatens to report Cogburn to the sheriff if he leaves with her fifty dollars, he seemingly gives in and instructs her to be ready for the journey the next morning.
Armed with her father's pistol, Mattie rides her pony to Cogburn's lodgings in the morning, but discovers that he had joined forces with LaBouef, departed without her, and left her a train ticket back to Yell County. Furious and insulted, Mattie follows his trail to a nearby river, spying Cogburn and LaBouef on the opposite bank. After the ferryman refuses to take her across, 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 clearly irritated by her domineering attitude. After an ensuing 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, forming something of a kinship as they travel. Cogburn picks up the information that Tom Chaney is not too far ahead of them, 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, but find that it is temporarily inhabited by two men whom Cogburn recognizes as Emmett Quincy (Paul Rae) and Moon (Domhnall Gleeson), outlaws tied in with the Ned Pepper gang. Moon has a bullet wound in his leg, and is clearly in great pain. Noticing the substantial amount of food being prepared, Cogburn suspects the rest of the Pepper gang will arrive at the cabin soon. He offers to take Moon to a doctor and to give them some escape time if they provide information. Moon, desperate for medical attention, begins to talk, but is mortally stabbed by Quincy, who is then shot dead by Cogburn. As he dies, Moon admits that Lucky Ned is expected at the cabin that very night.
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. One of them lassos LaBouef, dragging him off his horse. From cover, Cogburn shoots two of the gang members (inadvertently winging LeBouef in the arm), causing the others to flee. He and Mattie take the injured LaBouef into the cabin, though LaBouef is unhappy to be working with Cogburn again. Cogburn drinks heavily throughout the night and is incredibly intoxicated as they set out the next morning. He and LaBouef squabble over their marksmanship skills, but Mattie attempts to keep the two men on task.
After setting up camp in the woods that night, Cogburn vents his frustration about 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 arrangement, and LaBouef departs again, though he has gained genuine respect for Mattie. Both men agree that Chaney's trail is cold, and that continuing the search would be useless. A dejected Mattie falls asleep.
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 Chaney himself. Chaney recognizes her as Frank Ross's daughter and seems merely bemused by her presence until Mattie brandishes her father's revolver and attempts to take him into custody. An angered Chaney approaches with his rifle and Mattie fires, but only grazes his arm. Chaney 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 but is too late to retrieve Mattie.
Lucky Ned Pepper (Barry 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, Chaney is ordered to stay with Mattie and to leave her somewhere safe. Chaney tries to get out of the assignment, but to no avail. Mattie, despite Lucky Ned's assurance otherwise, fears that Chaney will kill her once they are alone. After the gang departs, Mattie offers to give Chaney an affidavit if he sets her free. Chaney 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 earlier gunshots. He explains that he rode back to the woods, met with Cogburn, and outlined a plan for Mattie's rescue. He says that Cogburn himself has arranged a showdown with Lucky Ned.
As Mattie and LaBouef 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. Ned taunts Cogburn, calling him a "one-eyed fat man," and Cogburn charges his horse. Holding the reins in his teeth, he fires revolvers with both hands, killing the three other men and mortally wounding Lucky Ned before his horse takes a fall, trapping Cogburn underneath. Ned, with his last moments of strength, prepares to kill Cogburn. From the hilltop, LaBouef proves his skill in marksmanship by making a 400-yard rifle shot, shooting Lucky Ned off his horse before the marshal is harmed. Moments later, LaBouef is knocked unconscious by a now-awakened Tom Chaney, who attempts to grab LaBouef's rifle. Mattie intercepts and seizes the gun herself. Ordering Chaney to stand, Mattie fires a fatal shot to his chest, fulfilling her goal of avenging her father.
The recoil from the blast 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.
Nearly twenty-five years later, forty-year-old Mattie (Elizabeth Marvel) looks back on her adventures. Her arm had been severely damaged by the snake venom and was amputated. Cogburn had departed by the time she came back into consciousness. After returning home to her family in Arkansas, Mattie had written to Cogburn, inviting him to visit her and collect his fifty dollar reward, but he never responded or appeared. The adult Mattie learns that the elderly Cogburn is now 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."
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