Over/Under Movies Episode 31: True Grit (1969 & 2010)/The Homesman

Over/Under Movies

For this new episode, Erik, Ryan, and Oktay head into the unforgiving American frontier as they discuss three Westerns told from a female perspective. First off, instead of one overrated pick, our critics offer two films for the price of one. They delve into both the 1969 and the 2010 versions of Charles Portis' classic Western revenge novel, True Grit. They try to answer the question, "If a remake is better than the original in every possible way, can it still be overrated?" Then, it's time for a worthy oddity within the genre, director Tommy Lee Jones' introspective and brutal anti-Western, 2014's The Homesman. Ryan calling it an action-free Western version of "Mad Max: Fury Road" is a stroke of genius, since both films are about a strong woman trying to transport three abused and battered women through a desolate, dangerous, and unforgiving landscape. Both movies also take a male-centric genre and give it a feminist spin. Find out if Ryan and Erik agree with Oktay's assertion that it's one of the unsung masterworks of last year. SPOILER ALERT: From the 50-minute mark until the end of the episode, our critics begin talking about a delicate and controversial twist in The Homesman's story, so if you don't want to find that out, please stop listening to the episode at that point. That being said, we'd of course love it if you'd continue listening to the episode after watching the film. As usual, thank you for listening, please send us your comments so we can improve the show, and look forward to new episodes when our kick-ass Pacific Northwest-based film critics will discuss one overrated and one underrated film that share the same genre, style, or plot. You can also find us on iTunes if you search for Over/Under Movies and on Twitter @overundermovies. Erik McClanahan is the lead film critic at Oregon Arts Watch, co-host of the Adjust Your Tracking podcast (Also available on iTunes) and a contributor at The Playlist. Ryan Oliver is a contributor at Gotchamovies.com. He writes reviews and articles for them, and co-hosts their Unspooled Reel podcast. Oktay Ege Kozak is a film critic for The Oregon Herald, Beyazperde, DVD Talk and is also a contributor and film critic at The Playlist.