January-February 2011 Creative Screenwriting Page 25

of law is no match for the chaotically cold violence of the Wild West.
The following scene contains this tasty bit of theme, which is not
only reinforced through dialogue but also by LeBoeuf's comedic
tongue injury, which gives him a speech impediment and changes
how his dialogue is delivered (see script excerpt below):

The scene's topper is, of course, Rooster chiding such legalese,

which follows on the heels of the previous scene's violence. As it turns
out, some bits of dialogue percolate within the Coens for years, with
this particular exchange predating their writing of True Grit. "That is
not in the book," Ethan says. "It just seemed like Matt is a kind of full-

LeBoeuf

Azh I understand it, Chaney -- or Chelmzhford, azh he called
himshelf in Texas -- shot the shenator'zh dog. When the
shenator remonshtrated Chelmzhford shot him azh well.
You could argue that the shooting of the dog wazh merely an
inshtansh of malum prohibitum, but the shooting of a
shenator izh indubitably an inshtansh of malum in shay.

Rooster is a voice in the darkness:

Rooster

Malla-men what?

Mattie

Malum in se. The distinction is between an act that is wrong
in itself, and an act that is wrong only according to our laws and mores.
It is Latin.

We hear the pthoonk of a bottle yielding its cork, followed by the pthwa of the cork's
being spit out.

Rooster

I am struck that LeBoeuf is shot, trampled, and nearly severs
his tongue and not only does not cease to talk but spills the
banks of English.

January/February 2011 creativescreenwriting