Was Hailey Steinfield a better Maddy Ross?

Well both are pretty talented but Kim in the original was right on the money. Steinfield's character was cold and really hard to believe. More of a directional problem for me. Both girls are a fit.

When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads.
-Ron Paul

OP,
At least get the name right. It's MATTIE, not Maddy.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae

No comparison for me. Kim Darby wins it hands down.

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Kim Darby was superb in her handling of the character and the deliciously stylized dialogue. A truly great performance and a treat to watch time and time again.

I have yet to see the recent version. Will probably get to it one of these days.





"If you want me to go, I'll stay as long as you like."

Even John Wayne would have been a better Matty than her. At least would have been funny.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

I've seen both versions and Kim's performance is my favourite. Hailey is talented and I look forward to seeing her in the future.






Yes, sir, I'm going to do nothing like she's never been done before!

Hailey Steinfield was horrible. I haven't seen bad acting like that since Fred Savage in the Wizard. Where all the 13 year old acted like they were 30. At least Kim Darby had an air of innocence that worked.

It's sort of an apples-to-oranges comparison, though.
The two version are almost completely different movies, in how the story was handled.
That alone will cause any 2 actors to approach the same character in the same story differently.
I think both Kim and Hallie did just fine in their respective movies.
I will say I prefer the original movie (although I don't mind the newer version. It's nice to have that as contrast to the original), but not solely because of how the role of Mattie Ross was handled.

Tell me, you love your country?
Well, I've just died for it.