Unlikely Partners, Taming the Wild West
John Wayne won an Academy Award for "True Grit". Fans of the actor knew that his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn wasn't his most memorable performance, which made it a belated recognition. Henry Hathaway's film was an adaptation of Charles Portis's novel. It was likely that it won't be read, as the Duke was good enough.
"True Grit" was first published as a serial in The Saturday Evening Post in 1968. Portis would enjoy renewed popularity when his book made it on the New York Times Bestsellers List in January 30, 2011. It happened after the release of a remake (of Hathaway's film) by Joel and Ethan Coen. (The sibling's version was nominated for ten Academy Awards, but failed to win any awards.) Jeff Bridges portrayed Cogburn, and he wasn't larger than life. It was a good thing, as the novel wasn't about him.
When Mattie Ross found her match
The novel was narrated by Mattie Ross, a churchgoing spinster whose appearance belied her strength of mind. She was fourteen when she seek the services of Rooster Cogburn; she wanted to get her hands on Tom Chaney, a drifter who killed her father. Cogburn was an amoral marshal who was known for his long list of offending acts, but no one knew a better person who would do the job. And Chaney was reported to be hiding in Indian territory.
The story took place during the 1870s, when the West wasn't won by the settlers and the law was decided by the gunshots. Marshall Cogburn refused Mattie's offer at first, as he told her flatly that it was no place for young girls like her. And he was right. But he was strucked by her intelligence and independence. She would be surprised to learn that this old man, who liked getting drunk, had a sense of right and wrong. Portis told their story in deadpan manner, wanting readers to look at the lighter side of things. After all, death could happened to anyone. Unexpectedly.
The story was more complex than the screenplay that Marguerite Roberts wrote, as John Wayne's onscreen persona would make moviegoers see the picture in black and white. This doesn't make Hathaway's version less compelling; Portis presented a simple tale, but readers would remember these unlikely partners. What if Mattie Ross were ten years older or more? Don't be surprised if there would be romance. Both the marshall and the teenager found their match on each other.
As for the landscape, the description was from from romantic. It was expected, as the unforgiving terrain shaped Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn into what they were. Portis wasn't expecting readers to like them, even showed them the slightest sympathy. But they deserved respect - and awe.
