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Mattie Ross is the star of the award winning film True Grit made by the Coen Brothers.
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This is a remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne which is in itself
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an adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel.
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The 14 year old lead character is played by Hailee Steinfeld
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who much to my surprise was only 13 when filming the movie.
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This is a significant and welcome change from the original casting
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where actor Kim Darby was 21 when playing Mattie Ross.
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it's always nice seeing young actors playing lead roles in serious films
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especially young women, because they are offered so few of these.
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Without giving too much away, this is a classic western narrative about the search
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for revenge, self-reliance, and independence in a harsh and unforgiving land.
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The movie follows Mattie on her quest for revenge against the man who killed her father.
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To help her on in this venture, she hires notorious US Marshall Rooster Cogburn, known for his ruthless grit.
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The Marshall initially dismisses and ridicules Mattie because of her age and gender
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however, she convinces him of her confidence and they set out on the trail to find the killer
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For those of you who haven't seen True Grit, there's going to be a few spoilers ahead.
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What's so captivating about Mattie's character is how witty and smart she is
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and how daring, self-reliant and independent she is.
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She's full of confidence in herself and her abilities in a hostile, male-dominated world.
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These are traits rarely ascribed to female characters, let alone female teenage characters
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One of my favorite scenes comes early on when Mattie sucessfully negotiates with
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an unscrupulous horse trader.
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And I want $300 for Papa's saddle horse that was stolen from your stable.
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You have to take that up with the man who stole the horse.
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Tom Cheney stole the horse while he was in your care. You are responsible.
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hahaha... Yeah, I admire your saying, but you'll find I'm not liable for such claims.
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You are the custodian. If you were a bank and it were robbed you could not simply tell the depositer to go hang.
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I do not entertain hypothetical, the world as it is is vexing enough.
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Secondly, your evaluation of the horse is high by about 200 dollars.
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How old are you?
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If anything, my price is low. Judy is a fine racing mare.
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I've seen her jump a 8 whirl fence with a heavy rider. I'm 14.
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Mattie really is a breathe of fresh air
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As Rebecca Keegan points out in her LA Times article
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“Given that female adolescents are frequently depicted on-screen as vapid, angst-ridden, pregnant or merely decorative.
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Mattie Ross is a remarkable role. She never shakes out her braids in a makeover montage, swoons
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over a cute stable boy or frets about the daunting task at hand.”
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I wholeheartedly agree, however, I've been a little dismayed by some mainstream media articles
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and some blog posts that are quick to label Mattie a "feminist character."
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Personally, I think it's a little bit of a leap
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While it is certainly true that Mattie possesses a number of admirable traits
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rarely seen in female movie rolls,
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I'm just not convinced she's a feminist character.
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Here are the two main reasons why:
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All characters need a good story arc where they're one way when the story starts
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and they learn a lesson or change or grow or regress or something.
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The point is that the character has transformed from the place that they were
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at the beginning of the story to some place different by the end.
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For all intents and purposes, Mattie is basically the same person
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from the first scene to the closing credits.
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