A part of me feels the need to point out that the “weird, dry, creaky, strange humour”, solid, gilttering dialogue and highly engaging characters whom it is a pleasure to hear speak are the features of all those other Coen brothers films that everyone loves. O Brother even has that golden-brown colouring, although it’s taken even further in that movie.

I think that if I’d gone into O Brother expecting the Iliad I’d have been pretty disappointed, but it was very enjoyable to discover while watching.

However, like most of their movies, True Grit has something different to offer as well, and it may be those unique parts that bring it all together for you. If you wanted to give another of their films a try, I’d recommend the less-popular Fargo, which is more character and less story driven, and generally more challenging, but a good film nonetheless.

I don’t have any numbers on this one, and I’ll agree it’s a trope, but I think it’s a pretty gender-neutral trope. That describes a billion and one male superheroes, cowboys, soldiers and more.

I agree that brand new characters are the most exciting of all, and there is assuredly a massive pool of interesting male character archetypes to be plumbed for well-written female counterparts, but the badass loner is an attractive character for any writer, and I’m happy to see it used well to portray jaded well-meaning, moral ladies as well as men.

Alas, I don’t think it has been confirmed after all!

I’m not familiar with her as an actress, but she doesn’t look at all like how I’m imagining Katniss, and I’ve only just started reading the sample chapters on the Hunger Games site!

I think this is a really interesting point, and others have raised it too (I read a great post on the F Word with some good links the other day).

I feel a bit like a lot of compelling women characters in cinema are kinda “lone ranger” types – Lisbeth Salander, for example, in the Stieg Larsson adaptations. Cinema seems to prefer to place its centre-stage women, when they appear, into lone situations. Which makes for a great “one woman vs SOCIETYYYY” thing… but it’d be great to see some women interact together more, in positive ways, to balance that out. Where are the buddy movies about women (the ones that are written to the level of True Grit, anyway)?

I feel like True Grit is written in a tradition, but at the same time, I think “but it’s the conventions of the genre” is a big old defensive screen the movie industry (and other pop culture industries!) loves to hide behind when erasing the potential of varied women’s narratives from the frame. I absolutely take the point that there are plenty other traditions that get ignored, and plenty other kinds of stories that don’t get optioned. Me, I’d like some duos, some teams, some lone-women-who-interact-with-a-less-entirely-male-dominated-landscape in my Cineworld movie rosters – but I’d like them as well as, rather than instead of, movies like True Grit. Because I do like True Grit a lot.

I admit that the movie is so masterfully written and acted that it took a while for the glow to fade and for me to think “hang on a minute!”, but in retrospect I’m disappointed by the implication that after this episode Mattie’s life was lonely and emotionally barren, to the point where the grizzled old Cogburn is the only person she feels strong attachment to and nostalgia for when she grows up.

She will continue her illustrious career of being tiny and shooting the shit out of things, except this time with a bow and arrow.