A History of Violence Claim and Objection

A detail on which this depends: The one, lone, chubby older Sheriff goes out (on a long desolate road) to confront 3 or 4 scary, fierce mobsters.

What we first decided this meant:

The Sheriff is symbolic of the town's almost childlike innocence and simplicity. He is totally out of his element and unprepared to confront these other-worldly vicious men.

The objection to this claim that stuck out the most and was pretty damn cool:

Actually, the mobsters are wholly out of their element and unprepared to confront the town.