True Grit ****

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about "True Grit," and it certainly has been remarked upon, is what a straight up western it is. It is extremely well done, with a couple of great performances (Hailee Steinfeld as the girl out to punish her father's killer, and Jeff Bridges as the marshal "Rooster" Cogburn she hires), beautifully photographed and scored. But it is without, somehow, they say, the Coen brothers' stamp.

But maybe not. After all, doesn't the story of a 14-year-old girl hiring a trigger-happy bounty hunter in 1870's Arkansas kind of fit their M.O.? Weird characters and gritty (if you will) realism abounds. Maybe it's not so far from "Fargo," "No Country for Old Men," or "Burn After Reading" after all.

The difference may be the widespread familiarity with the story, such that, even if you haven't seen the famous version with John Wayne, it seems still to be known. And then there is the loving use and preservation of novel author Charles Portis's locutions, a style of speech as dated and charming as a daguerreotype, when the only mass media was the printed word, and the classics were memorized by school children. This love of language is another constant in the Coen canon.

I say settle in and enjoy it, savor its western flavor, spunk, and grit. And think about how these stories don't settle into easy categorization. Which is another sure Coen trademark.

Rated PG-13. 110 minutes. Ethan Coen - Director / Writer (screenplay) / Producer, Joel Coen - Director / Writer (screenplay) / Producer, Charles Portis - Writer (novel), Scott Rudin - Producer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Carter Burwell - Composer, Jess Gonchor - Production Designer, Roderick Jaynes (Ethan), Editor, Roderick Jaynes (Joel), Editor.

Principal actors: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin.