The chemistry of this all-important relationship fails to gel in the remake directed by Ethan and Joel Coen because Hailee Steinfeld (who plays Mattie) isn't tough and fearless and because in their zeal to jump to the pursuit the Coens cut out the first ten minutes of the original, where we meet and learn what drives Mattie. Worse, Jeff Bridges does a poor job as Rooster Cogburn, playing him as a falling-down drunk with has no redeeming characteristics, cold and distant.

Mattie's father has been killed by ranch hand Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin in one of the best performances in the film), who subsequently bolted into Indian territory and joined forces with the outlaw Lucky Ned (Barry Pepper). Mattie hires Cogburn to pursue him after the sheriff explains that he has no jurisdiction in Indian lands. Tagging along is pretty-boy Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Matt Damon), who seeks Chaney for his own reasons.

Westerns are morality plays, where there's no space for ambiguity or temptation. In our morally ambiguous times, it's satisfying to see this simplicity, and that's one reason the more slovenly Bridges as Cogburn doesn't work: unlike Wayne in the original, he's not a good man fallen on bad times, but a thoroughly unlikeable character, a rehash of his role as Blake in Crazy Heart.

True Grit is a story about vengeance, pursuit and the unforgiving world of the Old West, with sweeping Texan landscapes and splendid production and exteriors. Without sympathetic characters, however, I was never engaged in the pursuit and found the ending anticlimactic and ambiguous. There's great buzz for this film and Steinfeld's performance, so if you want to know what people are talking about, this film might just be on your to-watch list anyway.

The wrinkle: I am not a fan of John Wayne and find that he played the same gruff bully in just about every film I've seen of his. Further, while I always think that I should like Westerns, with their stark morality and simplistic stories, I can't say it's one of my favorite genres. Still, I think that to appreciate a remake it's important to be familiar with the original work, and so I slipped the Academy Award winning film into the DVD player and pushed play.

To my surprise, I really liked the story, the actors, and the film.

True Grit is about teen Mattie Ross (an appealing, tough Kim Darby) who is determined to see justice for the murder of her father by ne'er do well ranch hand Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey). When the sheriff proves unwilling to venture into Indian territory to pursue him, she hires tough-as-nails marshall Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) to track him down and bring him back for justice. Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) tags along with his own motives: he's been promised a lucrative reward for bringing Chaney to justice for an earlier crime back in Texas.

The three of them make an unlikely band of bounty hunters, and when they find that Chaney has taken up with the Pepper gang (Robert Duvall in an early role), the situation gets considerably more tense: Chaney's a simpleton but Pepper is wily and well aware of the dangers and opportunities that the Indian territory presents. Also keep an eye out for Dennis Hopper as the gawky outlaw Moon.

What most appealed to me about True Grit was that the characters were believable and sympathetic, even as each wrestled with their own demons and limitations. In particular, Darby is a standout as the tough, logical and mature girl Mattie, who stands down ruffians and shows no fear, at least outward. It's also clear why Wayne won the Academy for Best Actor for his role in this film: he's brilliant as the rough, aggressive, antisocial Cogburn who gradually warms up to Mattie and becomes her champion on the quest for justice.

If you haven't seen the original True Grit, I'll recommend it to you: it's well worth a viewing, whether or not you're planning on seeing the Coen Brothers remake. Now to catch some of John Wayne's other works...