This movie does not have the grotesque and noir style of the Coen brothers. I was a little worried that I would not like it after I habitually pulled the progress bar to quickly browse. American westerns, adventure films, remakes, dull scenes, slow rhythms... These obviously can't satisfy my slightly heavy taste.
However, the appearance of the little girl Mattie broke my preconceived prejudice: the good-looking Loli has a sophisticated style different from her peers, and the game with the sophisticated businessman and the sway of the horse and whip did not achieve the goal. The stubbornness of not giving up will undoubtedly prevent me, a person who likes the Thunderbolt or the cold-blooded devil, from being disinterested. It is like a lazy Garfield seeing his favorite spaghetti, and his spirit is very good.
The film begins with Mattie's account of Mattie's father being shot by his hired hand, Cheney, and on the run. The little girl came all the way from her hometown to deal with her father's death, and decided to hire a bounty hunter to hunt down the murderer Cheney. As a result, the hired bounty cops—the rude, conceited but brave drunkard Uncle Rust and another Texas Ranger who had been chasing Cheney for a long time, Leboeuf, appeared one after another, plus the indomitable pursuit of Rust. Marty, a criminal, and the three of them set foot together in an unknown land in the western jungle. The pursuit process was not smooth. The three people with different personalities had constant contradictions and differences, encountered strange things and dangerous situations during the period. Of course, there is no suspense at the end that the three finally work together to kill the murderer Cheney, and incidentally annihilate the four domineering gangsters.
The greatness of the great directors lies in not just narrating such a story so simply, but trying to convey more information and inner expression to the audience. Like I didn't expect so much regret and sadness in this seemingly triumphant finale:
Mattie, who was only fourteen years old, lost an arm and watched as her lovely foal was exhausted and exhausted. Being shot to death, the regret of not being able to meet again after many years in the ending, and the loneliness of enduring and silently reminiscing about that precious memory are all melancholy and disappointing. Apart from dazed and wiping tears accompanied by the music at the end of the film, the audience can do nothing but lament the impermanence of life. It wasn't until the background music ended, when the little pony in the film slowly turned back and looked at you, that he suddenly woke up: the story is over like this, and it will never go back.
Well, let's talk about the little girl Mattie who impressed me a lot.
The story opens with a conversation between Mattie and the keeper of her father's corpse --
S: Is it this person?
M: This is my father.
S: If you want to kiss your father, please do so.
M: Why is it so expensive?
S: The selection of coffin materials, the materials for preservatives, and the chemical materials are expensive... blablabla... If you want to kiss your father, please do so.
M: Thank you, his soul has dissipated. Your telegram says only fifty dollars.
...
If it were another child, I might have cried a long time ago. Mattie looked at her father unbearably, while pretending to be calm and discussing the price with the custodian, as if she was a shrewd and capable, good at world affairs, and made an assertion to stay and deal with her father's affairs after his birth. When this decision was questioned by the domestic servant, she showed the style of a little adult, which made people laugh and admire. It's like saying: what's wrong? I just decided to take care of my mother and younger siblings instead of my father. Is there anything wrong?
The subsequent haggling game between her and the cunning horse dealer showed her shrewdness and sophistication vividly, which explains why she insisted on following Rust to hunt down the murderer: $100 can't be given for nothing, don't Take the money and do nothing!
If it were just that, I wouldn't like this character. I was truly amazed when I saw the bravery and arrogance she showed by riding across the river without hesitation in order to chase Rust. It turns out that all the sophistication, responsibility and calmness she has shown before are all because she has a firm and adventurous heart. I think that's why the arrogant Ruster looked down on the teenage brat in front of him and decided to take her on the road.
The bravery of a little girl is completely different from the bravery that Rust has experienced through all kinds of brutal battles. Her bravery is youthful and curious, and she has more sympathy and compassion for the unfortunate people and things around her; Rust's bravery is more cruel, which is the iron and blood law of survival in the wild land of that era. She often talks about law and fairness, sympathizes with those gangsters who have been killed but cannot be buried, grieves for Leboeuf who was accidentally injured by her own people, and the heart-piercing pain after seeing the foal being shot... ...Her bravery allowed her to fulfill her wish to avenge her father, but it also cost her a painful price - an arm. Just when we sighed at the ending of this little girl, the scene of the film turned, more than 20 years later, she seemed to stand in front of us more firmly and resolutely, and the last domineering sentence "Yes, I am not married, I don't have time for this stupid thing" is jaw-dropping, sympathy is simply superfluous, and she's faring better than we thought.
"Although no one is chasing, the wicked flee in a hurry." The wicked here should not only refer to those who committed crimes. Therefore, in the end, I began to wonder to myself, if one day encounter such or such a sudden change, will I run away in a hurry, can I be as calm, calm and responsible as Mattie?
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