Simon Dillon reviews the film

The rule of thumb with the Coen Brothers is that all their films are brilliant except The Ladykillers, which is merely a very good try at an impossible task.

However, unlike that remake, where there was absolutely no room for improvement, the 1969 True Grit is a western that certainly could benefit from a makeover. The original was good enough, with director Henry Hathaway making an unfussy, solid attempt at adapting Charles Pontis' hugely popular novel, and an Oscar winning turn from John Wayne resulted (even though his earlier performance in The Searchers was far better). But here Ethan and Joel Coen craft a quirkier, more stylish, more emotionally involving take on the book. Most significantly of all, the strong Christian worldview which was toned down in the 1969 version once again comes to the fore, adding a critical dimension that greatly strengthens the film.

The basic plot - about a fourteen year old girl who hires the legendary but drunken US Marshal Rooster Cogburn to track down her father's killer - remains. But where the '69 film focussed on Cogburn, the Coens firmly centre their version around the girl out for justice, Mattie Ross.

As Mattie, Hailee Steinfeld gives a remarkable performance, and Jeff Bridges does well in a less sympathetic take on the Cogburn character. Matt Damon is very good in the difficult role of LaBoeuf, a Texas lawman who joins Cogburn and Mattie because he wants to find the killer for the murder of a minor US senator. Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper also turn up in a couple of limited but effective bit parts. The cinematography is terrific (Roger Deakins would be top of my DP wish list if I was going to direct a western), and Carter Burwell effectively reworks several popular hymns to score the film (Leaning on the Everlasting Love, What a friend we have in Jesus, and so forth).

In terms of comparison between the two films, much of the incident is identical, but the Coens play up the strengths of the book far more. For example, Pontis' superb dialogue is quoted verbatim for almost the entire film, and it really does sound authentic. In a time when people weren't well educated but all knew their King James Bible, insults like "the love of decency does not abide in you!" replace the usual f-words, and that makes this film feel very timely, given the King James Bible's 400th anniversary this year.

Speaking of spiritual matters, the main reason this version of True Grit works better than the original is that Mattie's Christian outlook is critical to understanding her character. She isn't simply a vengeful teenage girl, but she has a deep spiritual understanding; knowing that, as Edmund Burke said, evil prevails when good men do nothing. The film even opens with a quote from Proverbs 28 verse 1: "The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth". "Everything in this life has to be paid for," Mattie says during the opening narration. "Only the grace of God is free".

In short, True Grit is an excellent piece of work, and - for once - a remake that was worth making.