THE ASTOR REVIEW

Adapted from the 1968 Charles Portis novel and a remake of the 1969 John Wayne classic western of the same name, this version of is slightly darker, slightly funnier, and ultimately every bit as good as what came before. When Mattie Ross goes in search of the most merciless US Marshall to bring justice to her father’s killer she learns a lot more about her own indomitable spirit than she bargained for. Tara Judah

IMDB SYNOPSIS

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with true grit, Reuben J. Rooster Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her grit tested.