Britt is a character with no conscience, no sentimentality, who displays no romance about killing- he is a brutal killing machine. He accepts death and deals with it, as my friend Micah commented to me with "an honesty that some could be described as evil." I see him as an attractive menace- Coburn was born for this role. His physicality is such that every angle of his lean, colt-like body punctuates any utterance or action he makes--most notably when he kills.

Another great casting decision was Eli Wallach as Calvera, leader of the bandits. An exchange between Vin and Calvera yielded another classic line: "We deal in lead, friend," says Vin menacingly when Calvera offers to make them all partners.

So, the point is go rent this film and soon. And, by the way, a tip for when you venture out to the multiplex to see the sequels this summer (and we all know how unruly and loud multiplex audiences can be): my mom and her best friend Sister Pat (a Sister of Mercy nun) went to see some film a while back. During the film someone behind them was talking non-stop. So my mom, being the lovely lady she is, politely turned around a few times indicating her annoyance and to no avail--the folks would not stop talking. Well Sister Pat (who is a force of nature as nuns can be) stood up in front of the annoying talker saying to them with arms akimbo, "If I can't hear, you can't see." It shut them up quick. Try it next time you are at the multiplex.