With so many great movies out at the moment, comparisons are naturally rising amongst us and we are asking, comparing, what actually makes these films good?
The other night I went and saw True Grit, the latest offering from the Coen Bros who really must be the most exhausted men in America. Their output is extraordinary and True Grit delivers a consistent amount of subtle humour, right-on characters and brutal violence. When the four of us left the cinema though, we stood in the carpark for a good while trying to work out what wasn't there.
It was a beautiful film, no doubt, and the performances were grand. But together in the dark summer night we decided that what was missing was that which you can't plan for. Heart. We didn't feel for Maddie Ross, her revenge wasn't our revenge, her peril didn't make us cry out. Every element of the film was considered and if we were to compare True Grit to most other films it would be stretches ahead.
But compared to other Coen Bros films, it did not touch the dark places of mankind. The confounding meaninglessness of my personal favourite, A Serious Man, nor the selfish depths of Burn After Reading and nowhere near the tension of No Country for Old Men.
True Grit is good, but I did not find it great. Perhaps that's the Coen Bros curse, that they must be compared to themselves. It did not meet my expectations, which were probably garnered by the song they used for the trailer. The film's actual score had much less bite.
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