SWMBO and I went to see this last night.
Good acting, good story. WAYYYYYYYYYYY too much blood and gore. This movie went past gratuitous. Yes, we know the bad guy is a bad guy. We did not need to see 28 gallons of blood to get that point; we picked the concept up within the first 5 minutes.
You thought it was gratuitous? I though it was the opposite thereof. Explicit, sure, but gratuitous, nope. Every shot (so to speak) had meaning, and generally they showed less than they could have.
I too saw the move yesterday and thought it was great. Not quite as good as Fargo, but excellent all the same. Also, if you guys liked this film, make sure to check out Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.