True Grit and True-to-the-Book

This is basically like my last post about The Eagle of the Ninth and its movie adaptation, only probably shorter. Why? Well, you'll see.

THE BOOK...

I had meant to read the True Grit book before I saw the movie, but opportunity came calling when I was only on page 13 or so, so Jeff Bridges became my image of Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon my LaBeouf (spelling?) early on. A few days after the movie, I sat down and plowed through the remainder of the book, which wasn't hard to do for two reasons: one, the book was almost identical to the movie and therefore really easy to follow, and two, the book was simply a joy to read.

I'd never heard of Charles Portis (the author) before reading, and to be honest his other 4 books don't look very interesting to me. I'll probably never read them. That being said, I have full confidence in his writing ability from this sample alone. True Grit is told in first person (a hard thing to make great literature out of) and from the POV of a 14-year-old girl (another point against it, I thought), yet it is precisely these two things that make it worthwhile.

Mattie Ross's father was murdered by a cowardly farmhand named Tom Chaney. Two days later, the girl's already on his trail, haggling enough money out of her father's former business partners to hire the county's best marshal to aid her. That marshal is Rooster Cogburn, a cold-blooded, one-eyed former bushwhacker with deadly aim and a fondness for drink. He's known to have "true grit," and a total fearlessness Mattie knows to be essential in her quest for justice- especially now that her father's killer is reported to have joined up with the outlaw gang led by Cogburn's old nemesis, Ned Pepper. Throw in the mysterious Texas Ranger named LaBeouf, also on Chaney's trail, and you have a recipe for bloody vengeance, true Wild West style.

(INTERRUPTION: Ok, I admit it, this'll be a long post... don't know what I was thinking)

I'll leave the rest of the story up to you to learn. I will say, though, that even having seen the movie beforehand it certainly kept its impact for me. The cowboy heroes and outlaw villains were tough, sure, but the author makes it very clear that it is Mattie, not Cogburn or LaBeouf, who has true grit. Her voice gives the novel its, uh, novelty, as well as its gritty (so many puns...) feel and steel-hard morals.

Definitely, definitely worth a read.

THE MOVIE...

Some movies are terrible adaptations of a book as well as badly made film (Dawn Treader, anyone? Percy Jackson?). Some movies are terrible adaptations of a book, but they're well-made films and therefore cool anyway (Prince Caspian, The Eagle, Inkheart). Some movies, though, are both great film and great adaptation. True Grit falls into this rare category (along with Narnia LWW, LotR, etc).

Both the beginning and end of the movie are almost word-for-word identical to the book, but the resemblance is strong throughout... a rare thing in itself, because- as a cinematically inclined friend mentioned to me- in some cases it's not a good idea economically or practically to stick to the book. Luckily, as he also stated, True Grit as a book "lends itself to film." I have to agree all the way. Most books just wouldn't work transplanted exactly onto screen. True Grit does.

So if you like one, you'll probably like the other. If you hated the one, don't waste time on the other. And be forewarned: it's not for everyone, by any means.

But I liked it. I really did.