True Grit

I have really had it with the Coen brothers' biblically themed tongue in cheek cruelty. And with "True Grit", they have added nauseating horse and mule abuse to the Old Testament in the Wild West stew. Does a mule being beaten with a broom and a pointed stick and a horse being stabbed by a knife advance the narrative in any constructive way? Depiction of violence to animals is inexcusable and pointless, as well as disturbing and offensive.

Oh yeah, yeah, Roger Deakins' cinematography is reliably sepia, a sort of over-designed period lighting exercise. The dialogue is terrific. The formality of speech contrasts the generally rampant misbehavior. "My mother is indecisive and hobbled by grief" is a line we are unlikely to hear anywhere but on screen. And the person speaking this wants to hunt down and kill someone.

Jeff Bridges gives a far better performance with a single eye than his phoned in old drunk in "Crazy Heart". Hailee Steinfeld effectively holds the center of the film with only momentary wobbles. Everyone else is well cast and just dandy.

But who cares about the Coens' obsession with biblical retribution? Did this story need retelling with additional cruelty?

More like true shit than true grit. Seeing this is likely to give me nightmares for months. The Humane Societies need to rise up in protest and dunk the Coens into a rushing and chilly river of biblical proportions.