100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #27
27. Mattie Ross, as seen in the novel True Grit by Charles Portis and in the films True Grit, portrayed by Kim Darby (1969) and Hailee Steinfeld (2010)
I don't like westerns. I've never understood the whole "cowboy" fetish, and generally I end up rolling my eyes pretty hard at the way Native Americans are portrayed (ie: let's slap some bronzer and leather on Italians and call them Cherokee!) I also do not like John Wayne, which is why I have never seen the original of this film. I rented the 2010 remake for one reason only: Matt Damon. But imagine my surprise when I realized that this movie isn't really about Rooster Cogburn at all; it's Mattie's story.
Mattie is just 14, and, with the murder of her father, instantly becomes an adult. Her mother has to care for her younger brother and does not understand the business; it has fallen on Mattie to not only settle her father's business but to try to get justice for her family. This is a girl who finds out who th biggest badass in the US Marshall service is, enlists him to help, and then, when he tries to leave without her, chases after him on her horse because she will not be forgotten. This is a girl who hires Rooster Cogburn because he has "true grit" and then proceeds to show every man in the film what that actually means. Even at her most fearful, Mattie does not allow herself to crumble beneath it, and, even as she is slowly dying from rattlesnake venom, Mattie maintains the quiet dignity she has shown throughout the entire film.
As we learn from the end of the film, Mattie lives, albeit with only one arm, the other amputated due to snake bite. She sees her father's death avenged and is able to move on with her life. Mattie shows more inner strength and tenacity than most men or women twice her age.
And that's amazingly kick-ass.
I don't like westerns. I've never understood the whole "cowboy" fetish, and generally I end up rolling my eyes pretty hard at the way Native Americans are portrayed (ie: let's slap some bronzer and leather on Italians and call them Cherokee!) I also do not like John Wayne, which is why I have never seen the original of this film. I rented the 2010 remake for one reason only: Matt Damon. But imagine my surprise when I realized that this movie isn't really about Rooster Cogburn at all; it's Mattie's story.
Mattie is just 14, and, with the murder of her father, instantly becomes an adult. Her mother has to care for her younger brother and does not understand the business; it has fallen on Mattie to not only settle her father's business but to try to get justice for her family. This is a girl who finds out who th biggest badass in the US Marshall service is, enlists him to help, and then, when he tries to leave without her, chases after him on her horse because she will not be forgotten. This is a girl who hires Rooster Cogburn because he has "true grit" and then proceeds to show every man in the film what that actually means. Even at her most fearful, Mattie does not allow herself to crumble beneath it, and, even as she is slowly dying from rattlesnake venom, Mattie maintains the quiet dignity she has shown throughout the entire film.
As we learn from the end of the film, Mattie lives, albeit with only one arm, the other amputated due to snake bite. She sees her father's death avenged and is able to move on with her life. Mattie shows more inner strength and tenacity than most men or women twice her age.
And that's amazingly kick-ass.