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True Grit

 True Grit
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True Grit
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True Grit is a 1968 Western novel by Charles Portis. Its main plot revolves around 14-year-old planter's daughter Mattie Ross, who seeks revenge for her father's murder with the aid of aging U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn — a notoriously "double-tough, knowing no fear", one-eyed, drunken badass — and younger Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. The plot involves some chasing, some tracking, some humor, a lot of shooting, the rescue of Mattie from a rattlesnake pit, a one-to-four final showdown of Rooster against bandits, and the final scene of Rooster riding away, proud and alone (sadly, there's no sunset).The novel has been adapted to film twice. The first version, released in 1969, was directed by Henry Hathaway and stars John Wayne as Rooster (in a performance that earned him both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actor), with Glen Campbell as LaBoeuf and Kim Darby as Mattie. The film was followed by two sequels: 1975's Rooster Cogburn (original release title Rooster Cogburn (... and the Lady), starring John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn), and 1978's True Grit: A Further Adventure (made for TV, starring Warren Oates).A second adaptation, released in 2010, was directed by The Coen Brothers. Staying closer to the source material, it places a greater emphasis on Mattie, played impressively by 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld. Jeff Bridges as Rooster and Matt Damon as LaBoeuf costar, with Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, but won none.
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2024-03-03T08:00:27Z
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2024-03-03T08:00:27Z
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 True Grit / int_113472aa
type
Miles Gloriosus
 True Grit / int_113472aa
comment
Miles Gloriosus: Averted. LaBoeuf looks like he's going to be one. But he turns out to be tough, tenacious, honorable and a crack shot. Still a pompous windbag though.
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 True Grit / int_121b3725
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Age Lift
 True Grit / int_121b3725
comment
Age Lift: In the 1969 adaptation, John Wayne was 61 at the time, while the book describes Rooster as being in his early forties. Jeff Corey (playing Chaney) was in his 50s, while Chaney is in his mid twenties in the novel. In the 2010 version, most of the male lead actors are older than their respective characters were in the book. Jeff Bridges was 60 when the film was made. Matt Damon (39) plays LaBoeuf, who is about 30 in the book, and Josh Brolin (42) plays Chaney. Barry Pepper is about the same age as Ned Pepper is in the book, though. It helps that Damon and Brolin are Older Than They Look.
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 True Grit / int_1235f055
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Dirty Coward
 True Grit / int_1235f055
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Dirty Coward: Tom Chaney, who attacks only when the opportunity shows itself. The Epigraph of the 2010 film drives this home, with Proverbs 28:1 : "The wicked flee when none pursueth."
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 True Grit / int_12575a9f
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Friendly Sniper
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Friendly Sniper: Labouef fills this role in the climax in all three versions.
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 True Grit / int_135b9977
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Bloodless Carnage
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Bloodless Carnage: Strongly averted. When people get shot, they bleed. (And it still got away with a PG-13 rating!note  Though it did get a 15 Certificate in the UK)
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 True Grit / int_14beeefd
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Darker and Edgier
 True Grit / int_14beeefd
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Darker and Edgier: All three versions of the story have Mattie obsessed to high heaven with getting Chaney, but this version makes her look crazier — especially once we find out that the fact Vengeance Feels Empty is one of the reasons she allowed herself to become a bitter old woman. There are also a few bloodier scenes and the Deliberate Values Dissonance mentioned below.
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 True Grit / int_171ef47c
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Not-So-Harmless Villain
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Not-So-Harmless Villain: Though not nearly as cunning as LaBoeuf insists he is, Tom Chaney is much more ruthless and cruel than his Good Ol' Boy dialect and attitude would imply.
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 True Grit / int_17257125
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The Wild West
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The Wild West
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 True Grit / int_17d44dcc
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Do You Want to Haggle?
 True Grit / int_17d44dcc
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Do You Want to Haggle?: Mattie does. She has to visibly force herself not to haggle with Rooster since she needs his good will.
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 True Grit / int_187228e0
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Bridal Carry
 True Grit / int_187228e0
comment
Bridal Carry: After Mattie's been bitten by a snake, and Rooster rides her horse to death to get her to a doctor, he carries her in this fashion nearly the rest of the way. In the 1969 version, it doesn't take him long to find a wagon to "borrow" to get her the rest of the way. In the 2010 movie, however, he has to run long and far before finding a doctor. By the time he collapses on his knees near the house, still clutching her in his arms, he's nearly out of breath and passed out himself.
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 True Grit / int_18cb78a2
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You Are Already Dead
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You Are Already Dead: For several seconds after LaBoeuf shoots Pepper at long range, it's unclear that he was hit at all. Then he falls over dead.
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 True Grit / int_18d15922
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Title Drop
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Title Drop: Mattie has heard that Rooster is "a man with true grit."
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 True Grit / int_1b65dfad
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The Cameo
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The Cameo: J. K. Simmons' recognizable voice "appears" very briefly as Mattie's lawyer answering her letter.
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Human Resources
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Human Resources: The dead body Rooster and Mattie find hung thirty feet up from a tree over the trail. After Mattie cuts it down, a passing Indian asks to take it with him - as Rooster puts it, "a dead body's gonna be worth something to someone." Later on they find out it ended up with the Bear Man, who pulled out all its teeth but offered to trade the rest of it to them.
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 True Grit / int_1ba17583
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The Ghost
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The Ghost: In all three versions, Harold and Farrell’s mother and brothers and Rooster’s fellow marshals William Waters and L.T. Quinn don't appear but are mentioned with varying degrees of detail.
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 True Grit / int_1e8f4221
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Fingore
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comment
Fingore: In the movie's most infamous case of Family-Unfriendly Violence, Moon has his fingers chopped off in one fell swoop by Quincey shortly before Quincey takes a bullet to the face.
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 True Grit / int_1ed272c1
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Automaton Horses
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comment
Automaton Horses: Averted. The trio spends much time caring for their horses, and when Rooster is riding Blackie hard and long to save Mattie, he ends up collapsing, and it's pretty obvious he's done for, even before Rooster puts him out of his misery.
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 True Grit / int_21f3aa44
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Good Is Not Nice
 True Grit / int_21f3aa44
comment
Good Is Not Nice: Rooster will catch Chaney, no problem. This doesn't mean he won't be a huge jerk along the way and bitch about it the entire time. Lampshaded when Mattie specifically seeks him out for being the "meanest" Marshal available.
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 True Grit / int_22cf536c
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Chekhov's Gun
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comment
Chekhov's Gun: Rooster and Mattie take care to lay down a rope to ward off snakes wherever they bed down for the evening. As it is winter, Ranger LaBoeuf says it is unnecessary. However, during the climactic scene, Mattie stirs up some dormant snakes that awaken and strike. She is saved by a rope, which Rooster uses to reach her. The snakes are sleeping in a pit that LaBoeuf had only moments earlier pointed out to Mattie in a throwaway line talking about something else.
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 True Grit / int_234fa9ba
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May–December Romance
 True Grit / int_234fa9ba
comment
May–December Romance: The epilogue implies that Mattie's attachment to Cogburn had something to do with her never marrying, in a completely non-physical sense. Or at least, it implies that other people imply that.
 True Grit / int_234fa9ba
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 True Grit / int_2439b588
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As the Good Book Says...
 True Grit / int_2439b588
comment
As the Good Book Says...: Mattie regularly quotes from the Bible during her narration, referring to specific passages.
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 True Grit / int_25b05c04
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Hitler Cam
 True Grit / int_25b05c04
comment
Hitler Cam: Tom Chaney when he starts formulating an intent to kill Mattie.
 True Grit / int_25b05c04
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 True Grit / int_2737c505
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Shoot the Dog
 True Grit / int_2737c505
comment
Shoot the Dog: Rooster puts Little Blackie out of his misery after he's near dead from exhaustion.
 True Grit / int_2737c505
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 True Grit / int_287deed8
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Retired Outlaw
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comment
Retired Outlaw: Prior to becoming a Marshal, Rooster's activities included robbing high-interest banks and being a member of Quantrill's Raiders. However, he does insist quite strongly that he was not a murderer, and only ever stole from banks, not individual people.
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 True Grit / int_2941069e
type
Law of Inverse Recoil
 True Grit / int_2941069e
comment
Law of Inverse Recoil: Both times Mattie fires guns, they give one hell of a recoil. Possibly justified, given her small stature and lack of experience with firearms. The Sharps carbine in particular has a beastly amount of recoil; a grown man holding it incorrectly could easily be knocked off balance.
 True Grit / int_2941069e
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True Grit / int_2941069e
 True Grit / int_2a02e5c9
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Guile Hero
 True Grit / int_2a02e5c9
comment
Guile Hero: Mattie wins battles through her intelligence, will, and force of personality alone - Rooster turns her down twice before she gets a grudging agreement to do the task, and she has to catch up to him the third time.
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 True Grit / int_2c27353f
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Was It Really Worth It?
 True Grit / int_2c27353f
comment
Was It Really Worth It?: The film ends on a much more ambiguous note than the 1969 version, with Mattie actually getting to kill Chaney, only for the act of doing so being directly responsible for her getting bitten by a snake and losing her arm. In addition, she had to witness several people and her beloved horse being gruesomely killed, and ultimately grows up to be a lonely old maid due to her abrasive personality and lack of interest in traditional feminine activities. While Mattie herself seems to have accepted her fate and shows no signs of regret for her choices in her middle age, it is left up to the viewer to decide whether this outcome is an acceptable price for vengeance.
 True Grit / int_2c27353f
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 True Grit / int_2e39af52
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Girlish Pigtails
 True Grit / int_2e39af52
comment
Girlish Pigtails: Mattie's hairstyle tells everybody she's just a young girl.
 True Grit / int_2e39af52
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True Grit / int_2e39af52
 True Grit / int_2f36d97
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Older Than They Look
 True Grit / int_2f36d97
comment
In the 2010 version, most of the male lead actors are older than their respective characters were in the book. Jeff Bridges was 60 when the film was made. Matt Damon (39) plays LaBoeuf, who is about 30 in the book, and Josh Brolin (42) plays Chaney. Barry Pepper is about the same age as Ned Pepper is in the book, though. It helps that Damon and Brolin are Older Than They Look.
 True Grit / int_2f36d97
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 True Grit / int_319e4a2f
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Even Evil Has Standards
 True Grit / int_319e4a2f
comment
Even Evil Has Standards: Implied with Lucky Ned in the 2010 version, that standard being oath-keeping. For instance, one of his first lines is informing Rooster that his threat to kill Mattie is not an empty one. Later on, he is adamant that Mattie be left unharmed after closing his deal for her release with Rooster.
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 True Grit / int_351e7cf9
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Romanticism Versus Enlightenment
 True Grit / int_351e7cf9
comment
Romanticism Versus Enlightenment: The original book was meant to be a more enlightened take on the romanticized west, the John Wayne film completely reversed that and made it a typical western of the time, and the Coen Brothers film brings it back to the enlightenment side.
 True Grit / int_351e7cf9
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 True Grit / int_35850a4f
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The Fellowship Has Ended
 True Grit / int_35850a4f
comment
The Fellowship Has Ended: As revealed in the epilogue, after the end of their quest, Mattie never met Cogburn or LaBoeuf again.
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 True Grit / int_3669898
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Undertaker
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comment
Undertaker: He allows Mattie to sleep amongst the coffins for one night, although he's pretty surprised by her request.
 True Grit / int_3669898
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 True Grit / int_382a6399
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The Hero Dies
 True Grit / int_382a6399
comment
The Hero Dies: Rooster himself at the end.
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 True Grit / int_38bf2f22
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Narration Echo
 True Grit / int_38bf2f22
comment
Narration Echo: At one point, the narration says:
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 True Grit / int_3a88a563
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Vocal Dissonance
 True Grit / int_3a88a563
comment
Vocal Dissonance: One of Ned Pepper's gang is heard first without a close-up on his face. His few lines are said in a deep, gruff voice. After he's killed, it's revealed he's a fresh-faced blonde teenager that probably isn't even eighteen yet.
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 True Grit / int_3bc88a7f
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Foregone Conclusion
 True Grit / int_3bc88a7f
comment
Foregone Conclusion: When the adult Mattie begins narrating the death of her father, you know that she will survive the events of the movie albeit without an arm and middle-aged.
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 True Grit / int_3eee0728
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Captain Obvious
 True Grit / int_3eee0728
comment
Captain Obvious: Rooster dispenses lines in this vein as though they were pearls of wisdom. Among the most memorable: There's also: Perhaps the greatest example:
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 True Grit / int_3fe2b13f
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Ungrateful Bastard
 True Grit / int_3fe2b13f
comment
Ungrateful Bastard: Lucky Ned shows little concern or sadness for the death of Billy, who rode back to save him after he lost his horse in the novel and 1969 film, saying he's happy Billy did it but that he should have looked out for himself. This is averted in the 2010 film where Billy is Adapted Out and it was Coke Haze (who he asks Mattie what happened to in all three version) who picked him up and then was shot off the horse.
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 True Grit / int_40cc0c7e
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Bittersweet Ending
 True Grit / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Heavy on the bitter. Mattie has to have her arm amputated due to a snakebite. She never sees Cogburn or LaBoeuf again. She did get an invitation from Cogburn years later to see him again, but she arrives a few days after he had already died. She also has to wonder for the rest of her life what happened to LaBoeuf, since he stayed behind when Cogburn had to take Mattie to get medical help for the snakebite. And on top of that, due to not being involved in very ladylike affairs, Mattie never gets married and the movie ends with her as a somewhat lonely middle-aged woman. Despite all of this, they ultimately did achieve their goal of bringing Mattie's father's killer to justice.
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 True Grit / int_4160410d
type
Damsel in Distress
 True Grit / int_4160410d
comment
Damsel in Distress: Mattie. Oh, is there a classical western without one? Though she's less so in the original book and especially the 2010 film.
 True Grit / int_4160410d
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 True Grit / int_4280d1fd
type
Spock Speak
 True Grit / int_4280d1fd
comment
Spock Speak: Everyone in the novel and both films sounds very odd because they do not use contractions, true to the time period.
 True Grit / int_4280d1fd
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 True Grit / int_454bda24
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Ancestral Weapon
 True Grit / int_454bda24
comment
Ancestral Weapon: Mattie's father's revolver, which she tries to kill the murderer with, and eventually (in the first movie) gives to Rooster and (in the second movie) shoots Chaney with when she first meets him during the chase..
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 True Grit / int_4781adbb
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Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 True Grit / int_4781adbb
comment
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: All THREE of the main characters qualify.
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Butt-Monkey
 True Grit / int_47fea76b
comment
Butt-Monkey: LaBoeuf is shot, tied up, beaten, trampled, bites through his tongue, and mocked repeatedly throughout the film. The Coen Brothers appear to have kept the character alive in their adaptation, not for a happier ending, but to make one last joke at his expense.
 True Grit / int_47fea76b
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1.0
 True Grit / int_47fea76b
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1.0
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True Grit / int_47fea76b
 True Grit / int_48c99e19
type
Death by Adaptation
 True Grit / int_48c99e19
comment
Death by Adaptation: LaBoeuf.
 True Grit / int_48c99e19
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1.0
 True Grit / int_48c99e19
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_48c99e19
 True Grit / int_49cf2258
type
Hanging Around
 True Grit / int_49cf2258
comment
Hanging Around: Par for the genre, three men are publicly executed in this way.
 True Grit / int_49cf2258
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_49cf2258
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_49cf2258
 True Grit / int_49d59be9
type
Scenery Porn
 True Grit / int_49d59be9
comment
Scenery Porn: Unsurprisingly a major focus, given that it was done by the Coen Brothers. Credit also due to their frequent collaborator, DP Roger Deakins, who may be the best in the industry in that position.
 True Grit / int_49d59be9
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1.0
 True Grit / int_49d59be9
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True Grit / int_49d59be9
 True Grit / int_4f84b27a
type
Suck Out the Poison
 True Grit / int_4f84b27a
comment
Suck Out the Poison: Done realistically. There is no perceptible benefit afterwards, and in all likelihood this probably lead to an infection which is why Mattie had to have her arm amputated.
 True Grit / int_4f84b27a
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_4f84b27a
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 True Grit
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True Grit / int_4f84b27a
 True Grit / int_50ae8e55
type
Little Miss Snarker
 True Grit / int_50ae8e55
comment
Little Miss Snarker: Mattie in all three.
 True Grit / int_50ae8e55
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1.0
 True Grit / int_50ae8e55
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_50ae8e55
 True Grit / int_53224e46
type
Bookends
 True Grit / int_53224e46
comment
Bookends: The movie begins with young Mattie arriving into town by train, and ends with older Mattie doing the same thing.
 True Grit / int_53224e46
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1.0
 True Grit / int_53224e46
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_53224e46
 True Grit / int_532a8261
type
Bookworm
 True Grit / int_532a8261
comment
Bookworm: Mattie is very well-read and eloquent for her age.
 True Grit / int_532a8261
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1.0
 True Grit / int_532a8261
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_532a8261
 True Grit / int_537dd8fe
type
Affably Evil
 True Grit / int_537dd8fe
comment
Affably Evil: Ned Pepper. When Mattie is captured, he specifically forbids anyone from harming her and tells her that they will leave her unharmed in a civilized place. However, he still puts her at the mercy of a man with every reason to kill her.
 True Grit / int_537dd8fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_537dd8fe
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_537dd8fe
 True Grit / int_5565c2dd
type
Rule of Perception
 True Grit / int_5565c2dd
comment
Rule of Perception: Two extremely rare aversions. First, the sound of Rooster's gunshot is delayed by several seconds. Second, there is a noticeable delay between the report of LaBoeuf's carbine and the impact of the bullet. Most people are used to instant sound effects and hitscan weapons, so this may be a case of Reality Is Unrealistic.
 True Grit / int_5565c2dd
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 True Grit / int_5565c2dd
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1.0
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True Grit / int_5565c2dd
 True Grit / int_557838d1
type
Adaptational Attractiveness
 True Grit / int_557838d1
comment
Adaptational Attractiveness: The two actresses who portray Mattie Ross in both the 1969 and 2010 versions (Kim Darby and Hailee Steinfeld) are somewhat prettier than described in the book.
 True Grit / int_557838d1
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1.0
 True Grit / int_557838d1
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True Grit / int_557838d1
 True Grit / int_5663a595
type
Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole
 True Grit / int_5663a595
comment
Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: In the novel, Rooster, while drunk, uses Mattie's revolver to shoot at a rat. Mattie demands he reload the two fired chambers, which he does using defective caps, and still drunk. This is what causes it to misfire twice later on. The 1969 film has Rooster use his own revolver and the 2010 film doesn't include the scene at all, leaving the misfires unexplained. However, the 2010 film does have Mattie and the revolver fall back into the river due to the recoil of her first shot, foreshadowing her fall into the snake pit. Wetting the powder in a cap & ball revolver like Mattie's can cause it to misfire, but the script never directly says this.
 True Grit / int_5663a595
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1.0
 True Grit / int_5663a595
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1.0
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True Grit / int_5663a595
 True Grit / int_581f6468
type
Hero of Another Story
 True Grit / int_581f6468
comment
Hero of Another Story: Labouef has been pursuing Chaney for years without success, although given Chaney’s Butt-Monkey status this doesn’t exactly impress Mattie. Rooster's fellow (unseen) Marshals William Waters, Columbus Potter, and L.T. Quinn may also count.
 True Grit / int_581f6468
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1.0
 True Grit / int_581f6468
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True Grit / int_581f6468
 True Grit / int_58e43f17
type
Cats Are Mean
 True Grit / int_58e43f17
comment
Cats Are Mean: Adult Mattie is thoroughly convinced that this is the case, and even cites Luke 8:26-33 as scriptural "proof" for it.
 True Grit / int_58e43f17
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1.0
 True Grit / int_58e43f17
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1.0
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True Grit / int_58e43f17
 True Grit / int_59cb2d43
type
Bested by the Inexperienced
 True Grit / int_59cb2d43
comment
Bested by the Inexperienced: Young girl Mattie kills Chaney, an experienced outlaw.
 True Grit / int_59cb2d43
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1.0
 True Grit / int_59cb2d43
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1.0
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True Grit / int_59cb2d43
 True Grit / int_5c0902e7
type
Boyish Short Hair
 True Grit / int_5c0902e7
comment
Boyish Short Hair: Mattie, to suit her feistiness.
 True Grit / int_5c0902e7
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1.0
 True Grit / int_5c0902e7
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1.0
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True Grit / int_5c0902e7
 True Grit / int_5c5d0032
type
Eyepatch of Power
 True Grit / int_5c5d0032
comment
Eyepatch of Power: Averted. While Cogburn has only one eye, he doesn't wear an eyepatch. This was changed for both films to accommodate actors who obviously still had two eyes.
 True Grit / int_5c5d0032
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 True Grit / int_5c5d0032
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True Grit / int_5c5d0032
 True Grit / int_6163afd9
type
Reliably Unreliable Guns
 True Grit / int_6163afd9
comment
Reliably Unreliable Guns: Mattie's Colt Dragoon (cartridge-converted Colt Walker in the 1969 film) misfires twice when she shoots Chaney. The book explains that Rooster, while drunk, used it to shoot a rat, and Mattie insisted he reload the two fired cylinders, which he did using defective old caps from a box under his bed, and still drunk. However, John Wayne used his Colt Peacemaker and Jeff Bridges doesn't shoot any rats, making the misfires a mystery and giving an unfair impression that Dragoons were unreliable. The recoil from the first shot knocked her back into the river right before the misfire. It's never explicitly stated, but getting a revolver wet like that would likely render the bullets temporarily unusable.
 True Grit / int_6163afd9
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1.0
 True Grit / int_6163afd9
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True Grit / int_6163afd9
 True Grit / int_61b8f9e2
type
Bunny-Ears Lawyer
 True Grit / int_61b8f9e2
comment
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his many quirks and jerkassitude, Cogburn does have the true grit.
 True Grit / int_61b8f9e2
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1.0
 True Grit / int_61b8f9e2
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True Grit / int_61b8f9e2
 True Grit / int_63fac3d4
type
Obviously Fake Signature
 True Grit / int_63fac3d4
comment
Obviously Fake Signature: Ned Pepper makes Mattie forge a signature on a check. She does it, thinking as she does it that nobody will think it's the real signature: you can tell it was signed with a stick rather than a proper writing utensil, whereas the real person wouldn't have done that.
 True Grit / int_63fac3d4
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 True Grit / int_63fac3d4
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True Grit / int_63fac3d4
 True Grit / int_6957ce78
type
Makes Us Even
 True Grit / int_6957ce78
comment
Makes Us Even: Mattie spends 25 years trying to get Cogburn his last $50. She then finds that he died three days ago, and that the money is of no use to him, hence why she moves him to her family plot. Though some might say it went beyond just the debt.
 True Grit / int_6957ce78
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1.0
 True Grit / int_6957ce78
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1.0
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True Grit / int_6957ce78
 True Grit / int_7426582d
type
Token Minority
 True Grit / int_7426582d
comment
Token Minority: Mexican Bob of Ned Pepper's gang.
 True Grit / int_7426582d
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1.0
 True Grit / int_7426582d
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True Grit / int_7426582d
 True Grit / int_7842867
type
Vengeance Feels Empty
 True Grit / int_7842867
comment
Vengeance Feels Empty: Very much the tone of the ending in the original novel and the 2010 version.
 True Grit / int_7842867
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1.0
 True Grit / int_7842867
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True Grit / int_7842867
 True Grit / int_7a2a34ef
type
Not With the Safety On, You Won't
 True Grit / int_7a2a34ef
comment
Not With the Safety On, You Won't: Single action revolvers like the Dragoon don't have safeties, but Chaney takes the time to stupidly point out how Mattie can cock the gun, then that she needs to cock it further since such revolvers also have a half-cock they can stop at.
 True Grit / int_7a2a34ef
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 True Grit / int_7a2a34ef
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True Grit / int_7a2a34ef
 True Grit / int_7b0fddcd
type
Battle Cry
 True Grit / int_7b0fddcd
comment
Battle Cry: Rooster announces his charge at Ned by bellowing, "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!"
 True Grit / int_7b0fddcd
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1.0
 True Grit / int_7b0fddcd
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True Grit / int_7b0fddcd
 True Grit / int_85debad9
type
Plucky Girl
 True Grit / int_85debad9
comment
Plucky Girl: Mattie in all three.
 True Grit / int_85debad9
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1.0
 True Grit / int_85debad9
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1.0
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True Grit / int_85debad9
 True Grit / int_863fa679
type
What Happened to the Mouse?
 True Grit / int_863fa679
comment
What Happened to the Mouse?: If you look closely at the final shootout, you'll notice that the gang's doctor lives. He isn't mentioned afterwards, he and his horse are absent from long shots, and Rooster doesn't try to find him in order to treat Mattie after the snake bite, but does mention an unnamed doctor would be miles away.
 True Grit / int_863fa679
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 True Grit / int_863fa679
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True Grit / int_863fa679
 True Grit / int_8748f851
type
Brainy Brunette
 True Grit / int_8748f851
comment
Brainy Brunette: Mattie, who haggles like nobody else's business.
 True Grit / int_8748f851
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1.0
 True Grit / int_8748f851
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True Grit / int_8748f851
 True Grit / int_895ec17
type
Only in It for the Money
 True Grit / int_895ec17
comment
Only in It for the Money: Cogburn appears to be this when he negotiates a $100 bounty for tracking down Chaney. By the end there's probably more to it, especially when he never collects the remaining $50.
 True Grit / int_895ec17
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1.0
 True Grit / int_895ec17
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True Grit / int_895ec17
 True Grit / int_8b606a51
type
There Is No Kill Like Overkill
 True Grit / int_8b606a51
comment
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: LaBoeuf shoots a turkey and proudly brings it to the party who complain that it's all ripped up. Too much gun, Rooster says. Ah, what can he know, he's not from Texas!
 True Grit / int_8b606a51
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1.0
 True Grit / int_8b606a51
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1.0
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True Grit / int_8b606a51
 True Grit / int_8bb156ec
type
Rancher
 True Grit / int_8bb156ec
comment
Rancher: Mattie's family.
 True Grit / int_8bb156ec
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1.0
 True Grit / int_8bb156ec
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1.0
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True Grit / int_8bb156ec
 True Grit / int_8be2ef8d
type
Grammar Correction Gag
 True Grit / int_8be2ef8d
comment
Grammar Correction Gag: Mattie continually points out Rooster's misspellings - even a quarter-century later!
 True Grit / int_8be2ef8d
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1.0
 True Grit / int_8be2ef8d
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1.0
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True Grit / int_8be2ef8d
 True Grit / int_8c1ad82f
type
Proud Warrior Race Guy
 True Grit / int_8c1ad82f
comment
Proud Warrior Race Guy: LaBoeuf seems to consider himself this. None of the non-Texans are impressed.
 True Grit / int_8c1ad82f
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1.0
 True Grit / int_8c1ad82f
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True Grit / int_8c1ad82f
 True Grit / int_916c72b3
type
Rule of Symbolism
 True Grit / int_916c72b3
comment
Rule of Symbolism: The fatal bullet for Tom Cheney also propels his shooter into a snake pit.
 True Grit / int_916c72b3
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1.0
 True Grit / int_916c72b3
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True Grit / int_916c72b3
 True Grit / int_93dc4e37
type
Villain of Another Story
 True Grit / int_93dc4e37
comment
Villain of Another Story: Ned Pepper is this in all versions. Infamous outlaw? Check. Leader of a gang? Check. History with Rooster Cogburn? Check. Is he the villain of the movie? Nope, it's his henchman Tom Chaney who got drunk and killed Mattie's father. He's actually pissed at Tom for dragging him into the events of True Grit to begin with.
 True Grit / int_93dc4e37
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1.0
 True Grit / int_93dc4e37
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True Grit / int_93dc4e37
 True Grit / int_963d947b
type
It's Personal with the Dragon
 True Grit / int_963d947b
comment
It's Personal with the Dragon: Ned Pepper may be the gang's boss, but it's Tom Chaney that everybody's after.
 True Grit / int_963d947b
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1.0
 True Grit / int_963d947b
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 True Grit
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True Grit / int_963d947b
 True Grit / int_967809be
type
Small Girl, Big Gun
 True Grit / int_967809be
comment
Small Girl, Big Gun: Done with a nod to realism - Mattie, due to her age and stature, has trouble firing a gun half her size.
 True Grit / int_967809be
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1.0
 True Grit / int_967809be
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True Grit / int_967809be
 True Grit / int_96d2ce42
type
In Vino Veritas
 True Grit / int_96d2ce42
comment
In Vino Veritas: Sort of. Rooster finally screams at LaBoeuf and Mattie that their trail has gone cold, that he's out of his league, that he has no clue why he agreed to this job, and that all of them are gullible idiots, prompting LaBoeuf to leave again and Mattie to get shaken a little. We say "sort of" because she runs into Cheney the very next morning.
 True Grit / int_96d2ce42
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 True Grit / int_96d2ce42
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True Grit / int_96d2ce42
 True Grit / int_973d220f
type
Never My Fault
 True Grit / int_973d220f
comment
Never My Fault: Rooster tossing an empty bottle into the air to shoot at, and missing. Three times.
 True Grit / int_973d220f
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1.0
 True Grit / int_973d220f
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True Grit / int_973d220f
 True Grit / int_9bca83eb
type
Death by Irony
 True Grit / int_9bca83eb
comment
Death by Irony: After Mattie is knocked into the snakepit, Chaney makes a crack about how there'll be a corpse in that pit soon enough. He's then shot and falls, dead, into the pit himself. Mattie is rescued, but Chaney's corpse is just left there to rot.
 True Grit / int_9bca83eb
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1.0
 True Grit / int_9bca83eb
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True Grit / int_9bca83eb
 True Grit / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 True Grit / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Mentioning that snakes are usually asleep at this time of year, and taking precautions anyway. J. K. Simmons as Mattie's lawyer predicts that her headstrong ways will get her into a "tight corner."
 True Grit / int_9d12bbc1
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1.0
 True Grit / int_9d12bbc1
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True Grit / int_9d12bbc1
 True Grit / int_9eaffefb
type
U.S. Marshal
 True Grit / int_9eaffefb
comment
U.S. Marshal: Rooster is one.
 True Grit / int_9eaffefb
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1.0
 True Grit / int_9eaffefb
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1.0
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True Grit / int_9eaffefb
 True Grit / int_9f7769a2
type
The Gunslinger
 True Grit / int_9f7769a2
comment
The Gunslinger: All the main cast, that's a western!
 True Grit / int_9f7769a2
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1.0
 True Grit / int_9f7769a2
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1.0
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True Grit / int_9f7769a2
 True Grit / int_9fde2eb1
type
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner
 True Grit / int_9fde2eb1
comment
Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Say it with me: Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!
 True Grit / int_9fde2eb1
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1.0
 True Grit / int_9fde2eb1
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1.0
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True Grit / int_9fde2eb1
 True Grit / int_a0d9c2f3
type
Final Speech
 True Grit / int_a0d9c2f3
comment
Played to a cringe-inducing and/or hilarious degree in a minor scene early on: when two white men and a Native American are being hanged, both white men are allowed a Final Speech but the second the native opens his mouth he gets the hood shoved over his head and the platform is immediately released when he starts singing his death song.
 True Grit / int_a0d9c2f3
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1.0
 True Grit / int_a0d9c2f3
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True Grit / int_a0d9c2f3
 True Grit / int_a47340fe
type
One Riot, One Ranger
 True Grit / int_a47340fe
comment
One Riot, One Ranger: LaBoeuf. Less literally, Cogburn also fits this trope, since Marshals often work alone and he's taken on whole gangs by himself.
 True Grit / int_a47340fe
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1.0
 True Grit / int_a47340fe
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1.0
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True Grit / int_a47340fe
 True Grit / int_a80ad52c
type
Hanging Judge
 True Grit / int_a80ad52c
comment
Hanging Judge: Judge Parker, a real historical person and one of the Trope Namers.
 True Grit / int_a80ad52c
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1.0
 True Grit / int_a80ad52c
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_a80ad52c
 True Grit / int_aabe2fb
type
Deliberate Values Dissonance
 True Grit / int_aabe2fb
comment
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Played to a cringe-inducing and/or hilarious degree in a minor scene early on: when two white men and a Native American are being hanged, both white men are allowed a Final Speech but the second the native opens his mouth he gets the hood shoved over his head and the platform is immediately released when he starts singing his death song. Rooster waxing nostalgic about the American buffalo — which he helped hunt into near extinction. The uncomfortable pseudo-romantic moments between LaBoeuf and Mattie. Played with when Rooster frees and chases off a mule that two Native American children were goading outside a trading post, then proceeds to repeatedly and literally kick them off of the porch to the ground. This has presumably more to do with their treatment of the mule than with their ethnic background, however.
 True Grit / int_aabe2fb
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1.0
 True Grit / int_aabe2fb
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_aabe2fb
 True Grit / int_adeb19b9
type
Outlaw
 True Grit / int_adeb19b9
comment
Outlaw: Chaney and Pepper's gang.
 True Grit / int_adeb19b9
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1.0
 True Grit / int_adeb19b9
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1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_adeb19b9
 True Grit / int_b1c398d1
type
The Gunfighter Wannabe
 True Grit / int_b1c398d1
comment
The Gunfighter Wannabe: Mattie's pretty serious about the revenge and makes Rooster and LaBoeuf take her with them. Even though she shows enough guts to impress them into taking her along, when things get serious, she's the Damsel in Distress. In the book and remake, Mattie is pretty skilled at fighting though, and again, 1969 Mattie can still be pretty badass in other areas.
 True Grit / int_b1c398d1
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 True Grit / int_b1c398d1
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True Grit / int_b1c398d1
 True Grit / int_b431d1a6
type
Adjective Animal Alehouse
 True Grit / int_b431d1a6
comment
Adjective Animal Alehouse: While talking with Mattie Ross about his past life, Rooster Cogburn mentions that he once bought an "eating place" (restaurant) called the Green Frog.
 True Grit / int_b431d1a6
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1.0
 True Grit / int_b431d1a6
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 True Grit
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True Grit / int_b431d1a6
 True Grit / int_b552b24
type
Truer to the Text
 True Grit / int_b552b24
comment
Truer to the Text: The Coen brothers have said that this was their intention.
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1.0
 True Grit / int_b552b24
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True Grit / int_b552b24
 True Grit / int_b8e3f20a
type
Demoted to Extra
 True Grit / int_b8e3f20a
comment
Demoted to Extra: The Parmalee Brothers and Doc/Mexican Bob, only one of whom is even listed in the credits.
 True Grit / int_b8e3f20a
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_b8e3f20a
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True Grit / int_b8e3f20a
 True Grit / int_b9af5ef3
type
The Film of the Book
 True Grit / int_b9af5ef3
comment
The Film of the Book: Based on a novel by Charles Portis.
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 True Grit / int_b9af5ef3
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 True Grit
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True Grit / int_b9af5ef3
 True Grit / int_bac9f95d
type
Sweet Tooth
 True Grit / int_bac9f95d
comment
Sweet Tooth: Rooster enjoys eating honey cakes with jam.
 True Grit / int_bac9f95d
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_bac9f95d
featureConfidence
1.0
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True Grit / int_bac9f95d
 True Grit / int_bcd27e37
type
Improbable Aiming Skills
 True Grit / int_bcd27e37
comment
Improbable Aiming Skills: Zigzagged in one scene where LaBoeuf and a drunken Rooster try to show off their marksmanship, and both hit and miss some very difficult moving targets (and Rooster once missed a not very small, non-moving target). The scene with Rooster shooting at, and missing, the whiskey bottle proves to be a deconstruction of the Eyepatch of Power. Though the eyepatch looks cool and Rooster is plenty Badass, it does provide a handicap, especially when combined with his alcoholism. Just before he shoots the bottle, he has to tilt his head much more in order for his good eye, on the left side, to line up properly with the gun in his right hand.
 True Grit / int_bcd27e37
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_bcd27e37
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_bcd27e37
 True Grit / int_beb9a361
type
Anti-Hero
 True Grit / int_beb9a361
comment
Anti-Hero: Rooster is a rude, crude, sloven drunkard who only agrees to Mattie's offer out of sheer annoyance, and spends some of the trip to find Mattie's target roaring drunk. And just before the climax, tells Mattie that the entire trip was an irritating waste of his time, which demoralizes LaBoeuf enough to leave the group in the morning, and seemingly abandons her to her father's killer when she's caught. This is, of course, just a ploy to follow the group back to their camp. He also stops LaBoeuf from whipping Mattie.
 True Grit / int_beb9a361
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_beb9a361
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_beb9a361
 True Grit / int_c2676b00
type
Jurisdiction Friction
 True Grit / int_c2676b00
comment
Jurisdiction Friction: Where is Chaney to be convicted and hanged, and for what? In Arkansas, for the murder of Mattie's father? Or in Texas, for the murder of a state Senator (and his dog)? Made irrelevant by Chaney dying in the final battle.
 True Grit / int_c2676b00
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_c2676b00
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_c2676b00
 True Grit / int_c3585f4a
type
Boom, Headshot!
 True Grit / int_c3585f4a
comment
Boom, Headshot!: Rooster responds to Quincey fatally stabbing his accomplice, Moon, by immediately pulling out his revolver and shooting Quincey point-blank in the face. No Gory Discretion Shot, either; the shooting happens in full view of the camera.
 True Grit / int_c3585f4a
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_c3585f4a
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_c3585f4a
 True Grit / int_c3648b87
type
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork
 True Grit / int_c3648b87
comment
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Rooster and LaBoeuf... LaBoeuf and Mattie... Mattie and Cogburn. Let's just say none of them are thrilled to be teaming together.
 True Grit / int_c3648b87
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_c3648b87
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_c3648b87
 True Grit / int_c37e00e7
type
Formally-Named Pet
 True Grit / int_c37e00e7
comment
Formally-Named Pet: The cat's name is General Sterling Price, after The American Civil War general of the same name.
 True Grit / int_c37e00e7
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_c37e00e7
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_c37e00e7
 True Grit / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 True Grit / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: A rather subtle one: The shot of Old Mattie standing in front of Rooster's grave at sunset is an exact recreation of the opening and closing shots of Unforgiven.
 True Grit / int_c75df49a
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1.0
 True Grit / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_c75df49a
 True Grit / int_caa28b82
type
Cloudcuckoolander
 True Grit / int_caa28b82
comment
Cloudcuckoolander: The outlaw henchman who could only make chicken noises in both films.
 True Grit / int_caa28b82
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_caa28b82
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_caa28b82
 True Grit / int_caf89e54
type
Taking You with Me
 True Grit / int_caf89e54
comment
Taking You with Me: Ned Pepper tries to do this with Rooster after the shoot-out in the glen. As Pepper himself says, he is shot to pieces, he's miles from civilization, and his gang's doctor has fled, so he knows he's not walking away from the fight, but he can at least kill Rooster who is trapped under the corpse of his horse. Ultimately averted when LaBoeuf snipes Pepper from a cliff at least 400 meters away, saving Rooster's life.
 True Grit / int_caf89e54
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-1.0
 True Grit / int_caf89e54
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_caf89e54
 True Grit / int_cda501da
type
Killed Off for Real
 True Grit / int_cda501da
comment
Killed Off for Real: LaBoeuf himself at the end.
 True Grit / int_cda501da
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_cda501da
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_cda501da
 True Grit / int_cdb45c07
type
No Sense of Personal Space
 True Grit / int_cdb45c07
comment
No Sense of Personal Space: Mattie tried to talk to Rooster while he was in the outhouse.
 True Grit / int_cdb45c07
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_cdb45c07
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_cdb45c07
 True Grit / int_d028e0da
type
An Arm and a Leg
 True Grit / int_d028e0da
comment
An Arm and a Leg: In the book and 2010 film, Mattie has her arm amputated in the end, due to a rattlesnake bite.
 True Grit / int_d028e0da
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_d028e0da
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_d028e0da
 True Grit / int_d9cf40fa
type
Screw This, I'm Outta Here
 True Grit / int_d9cf40fa
comment
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The Pepper Gang's doctor banks a hard left and rides right out of the film when Rooster starts opening fire on the gang.
 True Grit / int_d9cf40fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_d9cf40fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_d9cf40fa
 True Grit / int_dc0ca62a
type
Public Execution
 True Grit / int_dc0ca62a
comment
Public Execution: Three men are publicly hanged early on in the film.
 True Grit / int_dc0ca62a
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_dc0ca62a
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_dc0ca62a
 True Grit / int_de04068f
type
Don't Tell Mama
 True Grit / int_de04068f
comment
Don't Tell Mama: Referenced when a dying man asks Rooster to get word to his brother, a preacher. Rooster asks "Should I tell him you were outlawed up?" However, the man replies that it doesn't matter.
 True Grit / int_de04068f
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_de04068f
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_de04068f
 True Grit / int_e03c50ef
type
Water Is Dry
 True Grit / int_e03c50ef
comment
Water Is Dry: After Mattie has her horse swim across the river, she comes out and there is a shot of her looking at Rooster and LaBoeuf. She has a few drops falling from her hat, but her clothes are nowhere near as soaked as they were a moment ago.
 True Grit / int_e03c50ef
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_e03c50ef
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e03c50ef
 True Grit / int_e0723cbb
type
You Talk Too Much!
 True Grit / int_e0723cbb
comment
You Talk Too Much!: Let's just let Rooster take this one:
 True Grit / int_e0723cbb
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1.0
 True Grit / int_e0723cbb
featureConfidence
1.0
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True Grit / int_e0723cbb
 True Grit / int_e24d2d5c
type
Reptiles Are Abhorrent
 True Grit / int_e24d2d5c
comment
Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Especially rattle-snakes.
 True Grit / int_e24d2d5c
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_e24d2d5c
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e24d2d5c
 True Grit / int_e44a1a70
type
Bounty Hunter
 True Grit / int_e44a1a70
comment
Bounty Hunter: Rooster, despite being a Deputy U.S. Marshal whose job it is to track down fugitives, takes money to help him decide which fugitives to track.
 True Grit / int_e44a1a70
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_e44a1a70
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e44a1a70
 True Grit / int_e502e268
type
Family Theme Naming
 True Grit / int_e502e268
comment
Family Theme Naming: The Parmalee brothers (Harold, Farrell, Carroll and Darryl) all have named with an l sound in or near their endings. However, it's averted with Canon Foreigner Clement Parmalee in the second movie.
 True Grit / int_e502e268
featureApplicability
-1.0
 True Grit / int_e502e268
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e502e268
 True Grit / int_e563bf09
type
Insistent Terminology
 True Grit / int_e563bf09
comment
Insistent Terminology: A brief example, but Forrester the Bear Man makes a couple of specific references to "the original Greaser Bob." Apparently, there were multiple Greaser Bobs in the Choctaw Nation...
 True Grit / int_e563bf09
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_e563bf09
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e563bf09
 True Grit / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 True Grit / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: Mattie is almost inhumanly obsessed with avenging her father.
 True Grit / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
True Grit / int_e567510d
 True Grit / int_e663d3ef
type
Only a Flesh Wound
 True Grit / int_e663d3ef
comment
Only a Flesh Wound: LaBoeuf is shot straight through the shoulder but shrugs it off. Rooster gets shot by one of Ned Pepper's men in the finale but isn't hindered. Mattie shoots Chaney, but he stays on his feet and attacks her (twice).
 True Grit / int_e663d3ef
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1.0
 True Grit / int_e663d3ef
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e663d3ef
 True Grit / int_e8b295de
type
PlayedWith
 True Grit / int_e8b295de
comment
Played with when Rooster frees and chases off a mule that two Native American children were goading outside a trading post, then proceeds to repeatedly and literally kick them off of the porch to the ground. This has presumably more to do with their treatment of the mule than with their ethnic background, however.
 True Grit / int_e8b295de
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1.0
 True Grit / int_e8b295de
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_e8b295de
 True Grit / int_ead5a011
type
Twilight of the Old West
 True Grit / int_ead5a011
comment
Twilight of the Old West: Railroads are already established transportation at the start of the film; by the end of it, Rooster Cogburn is living a parody of his old life in a Wild West Show, and the West is done.
 True Grit / int_ead5a011
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_ead5a011
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_ead5a011
 True Grit / int_eb81c601
type
Big Damn Heroes
 True Grit / int_eb81c601
comment
Big Damn Heroes: LaBoeuf rescues Mattie when Chaney tries to "silence" her. Rooster appears to have abandoned Mattie out of convenience when she's captured, but LaBoeuf (who heard Mattie's shot) tells her he's coming back due to a bounty for Ned Pepper's gang.
 True Grit / int_eb81c601
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_eb81c601
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_eb81c601
 True Grit / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 True Grit / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: LaBoeuf, who openly brags about being a Texas ranger and gets constantly angry at Mattie for getting insulted over it (later beating her), though he gets better.
 True Grit / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_eb8ec7c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_eb8ec7c8
 True Grit / int_ebf3c9d1
type
Asian Store-Owner
 True Grit / int_ebf3c9d1
comment
Asian Store-Owner: The Chinese man who runs the store where Cogburn likes to doze off.
 True Grit / int_ebf3c9d1
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_ebf3c9d1
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_ebf3c9d1
 True Grit / int_ec9a5f50
type
Deconstructed Character Archetype
 True Grit / int_ec9a5f50
comment
Deconstructed Character Archetype: While the original book also deconstructed the old west, the 2010 version digs deeper into these characters. Maddie grows up so bitter and cold due to only living by something as dehumanizing as vengeance, while we see Rooster as more self-abusive and hate-filled (which may explain his alcoholism). His "true grit" and noble sides are still there but his addictions do make him much less of a romanticized western hero than how he was portrayed in the original film.
 True Grit / int_ec9a5f50
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
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True Grit / int_ec9a5f50
 True Grit / int_f010eba7
type
Plot-Irrelevant Villain
 True Grit / int_f010eba7
comment
Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Ned Pepper. Despite all the indications he would be the Big Bad, it's his idiot henchman who murdered Mattie's father and started the plot. He even admonishes Chaney for dragging him into the whole mess.
 True Grit / int_f010eba7
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_f010eba7
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1.0
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True Grit / int_f010eba7
 True Grit / int_f3626b09
type
Mercy Kill
 True Grit / int_f3626b09
comment
Mercy Kill: Rooster does this to Little Blackie in order to not make him suffer since he's almost dead from exhaustion.
 True Grit / int_f3626b09
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_f3626b09
featureConfidence
1.0
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True Grit / int_f3626b09
 True Grit / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 True Grit / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: The book and 2010 film both Deconstruct the classic Western, populating it with drunks, puffed-up know-nothings, and amoral bandits rather than romantic heroes. But when it comes down to it, Rooster, LaBoeuf, and especially Mattie demonstrate real heroism and courage, and they succeed in bringing down their man, although the end result is still more bittersweet than happy.
 True Grit / int_f64a9cf7
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1.0
 True Grit / int_f64a9cf7
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_f64a9cf7
 True Grit / int_f7602ddc
type
Handy Cuffs
 True Grit / int_f7602ddc
comment
Handy Cuffs: Two outlaws having their hands restrained in this way allowed one to kill the other with a knife before he could talk.
 True Grit / int_f7602ddc
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_f7602ddc
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
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True Grit / int_f7602ddc
 True Grit / int_fb6b207f
type
You Killed My Father
 True Grit / int_fb6b207f
comment
You Killed My Father: Mattie. She actually faces her father's murderer and even shoots him, but the gun misfires. In the 2010 film she shoots him the first time with the same result, then finishes the job later on.
 True Grit / int_fb6b207f
featureApplicability
1.0
 True Grit / int_fb6b207f
featureConfidence
1.0
 True Grit
hasFeature
True Grit / int_fb6b207f
 True Grit / int_fcd9b657
type
Gallows Humor
 True Grit / int_fcd9b657
comment
Gallows Humor: Literally! The most cringe-worthy, and yet still funny, is that both of the white hangers-to-be are given time to say their last words, but the Native American one has his bag forced over his head just as he begins to give his, cutting him off.
 True Grit / int_fcd9b657
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
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 True Grit
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True Grit / int_fcd9b657
 True Grit / int_fea42091
type
Badass Preacher
 True Grit / int_fea42091
comment
Badass Preacher: Unseen Hero of Another Story L.T. Quinn is both a lay preacher and a U.S. marshal. He believes Thou Shall Not Kill and brings his prisoners back alive while managing to avoid being killed by anyone who tries to take advantage of his unwillingness to kill them. The occasional fugitive escapes him by running, but there's no indication that he's ever lost a fight.
 True Grit / int_fea42091
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ItemName
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True Grit

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 TrueGrit
sameAs
True Grit
 True Grit
seeAlso
True Grit
 True Grit
hasFeature
Ability over Appearance / int_cbe1bf7e
 AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong
seeAlso
True Grit
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Adaptational Alternate Ending / int_cbe1bf7e
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Adjective Animal Alehouse / int_cbe1bf7e
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After-Action Healing Drama / int_cbe1bf7e
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Ambiguous Situation / int_cbe1bf7e
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Ancestral Weapon / int_cbe1bf7e
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Arkham's Razor / int_cbe1bf7e
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Asian Store-Owner / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Automaton Horses / int_cbe1bf7e
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Badass and Child Duo / int_cbe1bf7e
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Beautiful Dreamer / int_cbe1bf7e
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"Begone" Bribe / int_cbe1bf7e
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Bested by the Inexperienced / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Bridal Carry / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Corporal Punishment / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Deliberate Values Dissonance / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Do You Want to Haggle? / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Don't Tell Mama / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Epigraph / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Films of 2010–2014 / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Formally-Named Pet / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Gun Twirling / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Guns Akimbo / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Handy Cuffs / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Hanging Judge / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
I Was Beaten by a Girl / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Inferred Holocaust / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Invulnerable Horses / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
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Little Miss Badass / int_cbe1bf7e
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Not Bad / int_cbe1bf7e
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Not Too Dead to Save the Day / int_cbe1bf7e
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One-Handed Shotgun Pump / int_cbe1bf7e
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Overdrive / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Plain Jane / int_cbe1bf7e
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Plot-Irrelevant Villain / int_cbe1bf7e
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Plot-Triggering Death / int_cbe1bf7e
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Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title / int_cbe1bf7e
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Public Domain Soundtrack / int_cbe1bf7e
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Public Execution / int_cbe1bf7e
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Real Women Don't Wear Dresses / int_cbe1bf7e
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Rule of Perception / int_cbe1bf7e
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Shaky P.O.V. Cam / int_cbe1bf7e
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Small Girl, Big Gun / int_cbe1bf7e
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Somewhere, an Equestrian Is Crying / int_cbe1bf7e
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Spock Speak / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Steel Ear Drums / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Suck Out the Poison / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Sweet Tooth / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
The Fellowship Has Ended / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
The Mountains of Illinois / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
The Wild West / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Tongue Trauma / int_cbe1bf7e
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hasFeature
Vengeance Feels Empty / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Villain of Another Story / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
WTH, Costuming Department? / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Western Rattlers / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Wise Beyond Their Years / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
Worst Aid / int_cbe1bf7e
 True Grit
hasFeature
You Remind Me of X / int_cbe1bf7e