Popular reviews of the Coen Brothers rendition have shown the overshadowing expectations audiences have for the film, where as scholarly articles have discussed the powerful female lead and the important feminist ideologies she represents. I analyzed 15 random reviews and analysis of the film and 10 of them focused on the Coen Brothers directing, and the male actors in the film and the other 5 focused on the feminist messages in the film. Some reviews do mention Hailee Steinfeld’s acting, but the majority focused on the males that contributed to the production of the film. One such review is by Time, it states “In all ways, the Coens' True Grit is a classier, truer version of the tale. It's beautifully shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins in appropriately scrubby territory. Damon expertly navigates the line between foolish and lovable, and Bridges is sublime. As you'd expect from the Coens, the bloody and weird rise and shine. The small disappointment, based on the sky-high standards the brothers have set, is that True Grit is a classic expertly revisited, not one newly reborn”(M.P). This review focuses only on the directing style of the Coen brothers. While all they say is true it is frustrating that it does not mention any of the more important parts of the film Popular reviews from IMDB, Time, and many other articles focus on everything but Hailee Steinfeld and the feminist ideas in the film. The articles that I did find that talked about feminism really supported the argument that True Grit is a true feminist western. The Author, Laura Robinson, argues in her journal that Mattie Ross represents an “avant-garde woman” in post Civil War America. Robinson argues that Mattie makes avenging her father's death her priority first and foremost. Compared to other popular reviews such as the Time review of the 2010 film, we see more of an argument for the underlying feminist ideologies of the film instead of just focusing on how Joel and Ethan Coen’s directing, and Jeff Bridges acting really made the movie worth it. Robinson arguments about how Mattie Ross truly represents true grit because she saw “ past what society valued in women at that time”.  Mattie Ross demanded to be heard and complete her mission, despite women not typically having a voice.

M., P. "True Grit." Time, vol. 176, no. 24, 13 Dec. 2010, p. 86. EBSCOhost,dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=55615514&site=ehost-live.

Robinson, Laura, et al. "True Grit." Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, vol. 24, no. 2, Apr-Jun2012, pp. 190-193. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/08952833.2012.648134.