The Coen Brothers Enter the Oscar Race with the Teaser for True Grit

Tired of reading about how the Oscar campaign is going to come down to The King's Speech and The Social Network? Then warmly embrace the Coen Brothers and their adaptation of True Grit, since it could probably get a Best Picture nomination based on this first teaser trailer alone. If only Roger Deakins could shoot every movie, ever.

Based on Charles Portis' original source novel and not the 1969 film that won John Wayne his honorary Oscar Best Actor trophy, True Grit is your basic Coen revenge tale. A young girl (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld) hires a rusty old U.S. Marshal (Jeff Bridges), a young(ish) Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) and heads out with them to track her father's killer (Josh Brolin, who still seems to have his make-up on from Jonah Hex).

The teaser is beautiful -- Deakins looks to be on the level of his iconic work for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford -- and the film seems tailor made to get any number of cast members an Oscar nomination. In that regard, get used to Hailee Steinfeld's name since you'll be hearing it plenty between now and January.

VERDICT: Sold!

If/when the embed gets yanked down, head over to Apple.



Comments

  • The Winchester says:

    Whoa! Spielberg's name is on this? I wonder what those meetings between him, Rudin and the Coens were like.
    I like this teaser, would like it a lot more without the O Brother soundtrack.

  • Boricua in Texas says:

    What's this, Unforgiven without the prostitutes? Love the Coens, so I am sure it will be great, but it seems a tad derivative.

  • The Pope says:

    O sure, the picture might get nominated but no way in death's green valley does Oscar come home.

  • bierce says:

    You can't win an Oscar by telling Hollywood that John Wayne got it wrong.

  • TurdBlossom says:

    Oscar noms for Bridges and Damon again for sure (if the trailer is any indication).

  • Bag says:

    Screw John Wayne in his dead arse... this looks killer.

  • Bernard says:

    This looks remarkable- can't wait to see it this holiday season.

  • Vito Positano says:

    Most of the scenes in the trailer are iconic (e.g., silhouette at the door, handgun in close-up and in perspective, the hired gun, etc.), they being views we associate with the heroic wild west in our mythological Westerns, yet they don't seem to be cliches but are fresh interpretations on old themes.
    I will see this movie.

  • Why don't the Coen's just admit that they are the only directors who could possibly do 'Blood Meridian" and just DO IT!