A Remarkable Pair of Reviews
Jan.10, 2011 by
in
General
I’ll admit that I haven’t seen the new True Grit, yet, but I’m really enjoying reading all the reviews. Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly thinks the new Coen brothers’ version displays in living color everything that is wrong with America. While professor Stanley Fish writes in the New York Times that the new version is a truly religious movie (of a Calvinistic variety).
Have you seen it? What do you think? Who gets it right, O’Reilly or Fish?
January 10th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I thought it was very well done. The religious message was, shall I say, tolerable and it was done with means that I believe were tremendously impactful. My wife and I both left saying wow! Loved it.
January 11th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Thank you for the heads up on the reviews. I saw the movie, both renditions, but I have not read the book. With all due respect to Mr. O’Reilly, I think he is being driven along by ideology more than the content of the film. He takes a “when you’re a hammer everything is a nail” approach. His hammer is virtue and nostalgia. He sees a moralistic nail to hit everywhere. Thus he lack integrity in his review because he forces the movie to his cause. Fish is more thoughtful about the movie, trying to take it as it is given. He may not be a Christian, but he is rightly disturbed by the mystery of grace and the divine prerogative that is present in the movie. And contra O’Reilly there is some common grace virtue evident in the Bridges’ character, but it is not as verbal and in your face as O’Reilly. Could this be why he misses it? What he really misses though is what Fish can’t get over – the God who is there.
January 11th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I have seen both movies and am reading the book. I am in agreement with Mr. Hartley. O’Reilly in his review is displaying what is wrong so much of the time with America today and its search for the White Knight. O’Reilly wants a pure savior in the American ideal instead of realizing that there has only been one pure Savior.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:49 am
After having seen the films multiple times, I’m absolutely with professor Hartley, the new one is just brilliant and has so many nuances and truth. From the grace of god and the hymn to Arkansasans natural dislike of Texans (as an Arkansasan, I can personally vouch for our loathing of proud Texans), every layer of the film is so rich.
How did this movie get made? It’s good, you would’ve thought the studio’s would’ve killed it.
January 14th, 2011 at 6:42 am
Worthwhile review of the film at the Weekly Standard site today. http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/true-hit_526868.html
To clarify, I am not the Professor John Hartley (there are two), I am the pastor John A. Hartley from Wisconsin.
January 14th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
O’Reilly has it all wrong. In the new film, Cogburn isn’t the one with True Grit… Mattie is! She is the real hero in this film, IMHO.
January 20th, 2011 at 8:38 am
In fairness to O’Reilly I haven’t read his review, but I did see the film and read the Stanley Fish piece. I think Fish nails it. Sad to say the Coen Brothers “get” sin and grace better than many evangelical Christians.