True Grit & The Western Mythology

The Greeks don't have a monopoly on mythology! The western flicks of the mid-20th century serve as great forms of mythology. In them, men are pistol-wielding fiends with wit. Women are damsels that are to be rescued. And most importantly, justice is to be upheld. But, True Grit has a different take on that.

The Coen Brothers' 2011 film is an adaptation of the novel, True Grit as is the 1969 film. Mattie Ross is the main character in the text and films. In the 1969 film, a 20-year old Kim Darby played a 14-year old Mattie Ross. In the 2011 film, a 13-year old Hailee Steinfield played Mattie Ross. It is within these differences that affect how the rest of the film resides. The book is unusual for its portrayal of a teenage girl as the center of the story, especially for the western genre. Mattie Ross is truly better played as a younger character, sticking to the roots of the book.
Mattie Ross desires justice, rather than revenge, for her father's murder. She uses logical thinking, to a fault, throughout while seeking justice for his death. Marshal Cogburn, a drunkard companion to Ross, hunts for the killers. Cogburn is chosen by Ross because he has true grit. At the end of it all, after Chaney has been killed, the audience finds that it is also Ross that has true grit. She loses her arm to a rattlesnake bite and a some odd 40 years later searches for Cogburn to thank him. He has died since then, yet she still takes a logical approach to this news.

This story rested on Mattie Ross, telling it as a teenager with no concept of "the grey" areas that are abundant in life. She swiftly negotiates throughout to get her way. However her way is more pure than a personal motivation. She seeks justice for her father's death. She is not led by money. One could say she is not motivated by revenge either, only until she sees Cheney that her motivations warp a little bit. Ross wishes to shoot Cheney with her father's gun, an act not driven by justice alone. Still, she upholds her philosophies about true grit and justice until the end of the text. These elements make True Grit and unusual portrayal of the western ideologies.