One of the things that really surprised me about this movie was that it was really straightforward. There were no significant twists or anything. Mattie wants to kill Cheney, searches for him, and kills him.
However, at the same time, this works so well. I guess you could say that the characters' motivations and goals are what triumph. That and the banter in between the characters is so funny and entertaining.

Adam, that's a really good point and one easy to overlook. The story is as straight-ahead as one could imagine. Did you ask yourself like I did, "Why did the Coens find this story so attractive to want to remake it?" I think in large part it's because of Mattie. And because of who she is, she stands smack in the middle of so many aspects of the story: adult-child, part of her like Cogburn, part of her like LeBouef. If my take on the characters is anywhere near true, there is a lot more going on in the story on a psychological level than first meets the eye. Tune in tomorrow.

After watching the original True Grit years ago, I read the book and remember thinking they were nothing alike. So, this was one case of me welcoming a remake because of the breadth of story still to be told (well, that and it being the Coen Bros).

They were WAY more true to the novel--from the formality of the dialogue to the unfolding of events and the importance of Mattie (John Wayne overshadowed her as protagonist in the original but not in the novel). So, I'm guessing perhaps the Coen Bros saw something that was known as great but had another chapter (or layer).

As a side note, I thought this an interesting mix of O Brother (with the amusing banter) and No Country (with the darkness and killing).

@JMay: That's a really good observation, how True Grit is like a combination of O Brother and No Country. Brother is an interpretation The Odyssey which is perhaps the most notable example in western literature of The Hero's Journey, and as noted, True Grit is classic hero's journey, too. And Old Country is in effect a western.

I notice the first act is incredibly long by modern standards. Granted, the Coen's can make a first act as long as they like, but the first turning point comes at 35-39. Whenever I have a script read or take a class, I'm told no later than 25. When I was watching the movie, I didn't feel antsy or in need of a turning point and was completely sucked into the story, taking the pace as it came. So, is it just that, in good hands, rules can be broken, or is there something more going on that allows for the long first act?

@Annika: It's especially long since the trio of lead characters doesn't actually take off on their quest until 40+ pages into the script. Your instincts are right: The Coens can get away with it. They have a track record. I'm not going to flat-out say that a newcomer can't sell a script with a 35 or so page first act, but it certainly doesn't make their job any easier. All I can say is those 35 pages had better kick ass.

Re True Grit: They had three big things to set up: (1) Mattie procuring money. (2) Convincing Cogburn to go after Chaney. (3) Introduce LeBouef. The latter is easy and they just drop him into her bedroom for their single Act One conversation. But to achieve a sense of verismilitude, they couldn't have Mattie get the money right away because she had to get word to her lawyer, who had to draft a document, then get it back to her. Nor would we buy it if the first time she asked Cogburn, he agreed to go after Chaney. It would undercut his stubborn nature. Moreover by playing so 'hard to get,' it gives the pair that much more room to have to cover - emotionally and psychologically - which in turn makes the ending all that much more dramatic and meaningful.

So the Coens took their damn time in Act One. And I, like you, didn't find my interest in it waning for one minute. That's what compelling characters will do for you -- and your script.

The structure is alot more complicated (see Kal Bashir's 510+ stage Hero's Journey at http://www.clickok.co.uk/index4.html ) but you're on the right track.

@Dave: Here's one problem I have with approaches that try to extend the "stages" of The Hero's Journey into screenwriting and it's a quote from an ad page for Bashir's products: "Tells you what to write."

No writing principles should tell you what to write. They can help you dig into a story. They can help you understand the story. They can help you shape the story. But a story is an organic thing, not a set of widgets. The problem with the way a lot of screenplay structure paradigms are used is reflected in that comment: Writers think if they know exactly what beat goes where, they will write a great story. Perhaps they do. Perhaps they don't. One thing is clear: Understanding the 12, 17, or 510 'stages' of The Hero's Journey does not necessarily translate into good writing. For that, there is only one thing: To go into the story deeply enough that you connect with its heart and soul -- the characters -- and see where they take you.

Programs which purport to "tell you what to write" are suspect because they promise to take the mystery out of writing... when in fact it's the mystery of the process where the magic is found.

The approach I teach provides essential principles to guide a writer's creative process and help them wrangle their story, but mostly to immerse them in their story universe and understand their characters so they can (hopefully) find that magic.

I know you're analyzing the movie/script, but do you really believe that The Cohen Brothers actually did anything more than adapt the novel, which happens to fit in the Hero's Journey mold?

I think these kind of analysis are fine for some but dangerous for others. The most ardent "Hero's Journey" writers that I know use it so extensively that it becomes a crutch.

@Leonard: In answer to your question, I think the Coens adapted the book, of course, therefore the contours of the story were definitely established in that primary source material. Obviously, too, the Coens brought their own understanding of the story to their cinematic vision of it, just like Marguerite Roberts (screenwriter) and Henry Hathaway (director) did to the original version of the movie.

But to your observation that True Grit just "happens to fit in the Hero's Journey mold" -- that's kind of Joseph Campbell's point: The Hero's Journey is the one story that every story tells. While the shape, tone, and genre of that story can vary in limitless ways, key underlying narrative elements reflect aspects of the human experience we, as moviegoers and story readers / listeners, somehow have come to expect in stories.

So the value for screenwriters in analyzing scripts and movies by breaking them down structurally and thematically is to deepen our understanding of the magic and mystery of how those universal principles can play out in stories.

To your second point, I wholeheartedly agree and that was precisely my point in this post. And I quote:

"No writing principles should tell you what to write. They can help you dig into a story. They can help you understand the story. They can help you shape the story. But a story is an organic thing, not a set of widgets. The problem with the way a lot of screenplay structure paradigms are used is reflected in that comment: Writers think if they know exactly what beat goes where, they will write a great story. Perhaps they do. Perhaps they don't. One thing is clear: Understanding the 12, 17, or 510 'stages' of The Hero's Journey does not necessarily translate into good writing. For that, there is only one thing: To go into the story deeply enough that you connect with its heart and soul -- the characters -- and see where they take you.

Programs which purport to "tell you what to write" are suspect because they promise to take the mystery out of writing... when in fact it's the mystery of the process where the magic is found.

The approach I teach provides essential principles to guide a writer's creative process and help them wrangle their story, but mostly to immerse them in their story universe and understand their characters so they can (hopefully) find that magic."