UnforgivenWhat does it take to drive a man back into the saddle? Unforgiven is a revisionist Western film directed, produced, and starring Clint Eastwood as ex-thief, murderer, and outlaw William Munny, now a devoted father, farmer, and widower. He is invited to split a bounty by a wet behind the ears young gun with more sass than sense, calling himself "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett). The job requires that they assassinate a couple of cowboys, one of which cut up the face of a local prostitute in the dusty town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming. Bill considers his children's future and walks back into a life of violence, trying to convince himself he is a changed man.
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There will be inevitable comparisons made between Unforgiven and the popular "Spaghetti Westerns" of Sergio Leone. This is due to Clint Eastwood both starring in and directing Unforgiven, a man whose popularity in Hollywood stemmed from his iconic turns as the quiet gunslinger referred to as the "Man with No Name". But as a "revisionist" Western, Unforgiven shares more in common with more pensive and introspective Westerns like McCabe & Mrs. Miller or The Great Silence than the films which made Clint Eastwood a household name. William Munny claims he regrets the life he led before he settled down with his now departed wife. A title card at the beginning of the film--revisited at the end--describes the unsavory legend of William Munny from Missouri as a thief and a murderer. Tall tales of outlawing and banditry which defined the Wild West were the kind of stories about William Munny--the kind Schofield grew up on, since his uncle was a former member of Munny's circle of killers. Schofield seeks William out because knows it will be his best chance to claim some of the bounty--and it becomes clear, contrary to his protestations, that Schofield has never killed anyone. That Schofield is compelled to bark loudly about his prowess reveals its falsehood; tall tales are usually only true when they go unspoken by those who actually lived them, like William Munny. Schofield wants to meet William because he represents the man he wants to become--a living legend, feared and adored across the wild plains of Wyoming. But William's biggest concerns now are trying to figure out how to feed his kids and keep his pigs quarantined to prevent the spread of a fever. William lives a clean life now thanks to his wife; he's given up alcohol and abstains from intercourse. It is implied that William is living a lie--he is desperate to be "forgiven" for his transgressions, but there is a part of him that is still the same thief and murderer who would considers the bounty in the first place. This self-deception is alluded to by Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), a former partner of William's who he calls on for help with the job and company. Both William and Ned know that this bounty is something that they shouldn't undertake, but men have a tendency to revisit those glory days of their youth, no matter how dark they actually were.
Unforgiven depicts how an event can escalate quickly and out of control. The film opens with violence: Delilah (Anna Levine), one of the prostitutes working in a billiards hall in Big Whiskey is viciously assaulted by a cowboy, after she unwittingly impugns his masculinity. This outrages one of the other prostitutes named Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher), who convinces her colleagues to pool their savings and send word out to adventurers and assassins to bring vengeance down upon the two men who they feel were not adequately punished. "Little" Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), the sheriff of Big Whiskey, originally planned to just whip the boys, but after the insistence of the unsavory proprietor of the billiards hall, Skinny Dubois (Anthony James), who views the prostitutes as his damaged "property", Little Bill orders them to turn over half a dozen horses as compensation; but this only reinforces the pervading attitude that the women are considered to be no better than objects. Alice's fire burns hot enough for the rest of her compatriots, even when it becomes clear in Delilah's expression that she would rather that it were all over and forgotten. There is a moment when the more congenial (yet contrite) cowboy offers a conciliatory horse to Delilah, but Alice drives him out before she can accept. Little Bill catches wind of the bounty from Skinny, and rightfully presumes that it will draw all sorts of violent hotheads, leading to an ordinance prohibiting weapons in town. This is essentially an excuse for Little Bill to administer brutal punishment to those who would defy his orders, like what happens to the smug and snobbish soldier of fortune called "English Bob" (Richard Harris). Little Bill and William Munny are like two sides of the same coin--even their names are the same. As Little Bill indulges in his strongarm tactics more and more--ostensibly to dissuade further violence--he becomes more of a tyrannical bully than a defender of the people. Bill even delivers sardonic quips while he abuses the bounty hunters, suggesting he enjoys the violence more than he admits. In another Western, Little Bill might be the moral defender of the town against the incursion of crooks and rabid shootists looking for a quick buck. He shares his wisdom at gunplay (not his wisdom at carpentry, for sure) with English Bob's former "biographer", W. W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), claiming that the "real" West was not won by the fastest gun, but by the steadiest hand. Gene Hackman walks the line of confidence and arrogance with Little Bill and crosses it when he needs to do so--his performance foreshadows his role as a corrupt sheriff in The Quick and the Dead. Little Bill represents the antithesis of William Munny, and becomes the antagonist as a result. But after the final confrontation, there is no sense of victory for William; the barriers that kept out the dreaded vices and evils of the past have been dispelled--revealed to be the illusions they always were.
Recommended for: Fans of a wistful revisiting of the Western, with Clint Eastwood once again in the saddle (literally and figuratively). The melancholy score by Lennie Niehaus also invites the audience to sympathize with the profound regret that burdens William Munny. Unforgiven is a complex story about people drawn into an escalation of violence, forcing them to evaluate their true priorities, acknowledge the darkness within themselves, and forcing them to ask themselves if they deserve to be forgiven.
Unforgiven depicts how an event can escalate quickly and out of control. The film opens with violence: Delilah (Anna Levine), one of the prostitutes working in a billiards hall in Big Whiskey is viciously assaulted by a cowboy, after she unwittingly impugns his masculinity. This outrages one of the other prostitutes named Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher), who convinces her colleagues to pool their savings and send word out to adventurers and assassins to bring vengeance down upon the two men who they feel were not adequately punished. "Little" Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), the sheriff of Big Whiskey, originally planned to just whip the boys, but after the insistence of the unsavory proprietor of the billiards hall, Skinny Dubois (Anthony James), who views the prostitutes as his damaged "property", Little Bill orders them to turn over half a dozen horses as compensation; but this only reinforces the pervading attitude that the women are considered to be no better than objects. Alice's fire burns hot enough for the rest of her compatriots, even when it becomes clear in Delilah's expression that she would rather that it were all over and forgotten. There is a moment when the more congenial (yet contrite) cowboy offers a conciliatory horse to Delilah, but Alice drives him out before she can accept. Little Bill catches wind of the bounty from Skinny, and rightfully presumes that it will draw all sorts of violent hotheads, leading to an ordinance prohibiting weapons in town. This is essentially an excuse for Little Bill to administer brutal punishment to those who would defy his orders, like what happens to the smug and snobbish soldier of fortune called "English Bob" (Richard Harris). Little Bill and William Munny are like two sides of the same coin--even their names are the same. As Little Bill indulges in his strongarm tactics more and more--ostensibly to dissuade further violence--he becomes more of a tyrannical bully than a defender of the people. Bill even delivers sardonic quips while he abuses the bounty hunters, suggesting he enjoys the violence more than he admits. In another Western, Little Bill might be the moral defender of the town against the incursion of crooks and rabid shootists looking for a quick buck. He shares his wisdom at gunplay (not his wisdom at carpentry, for sure) with English Bob's former "biographer", W. W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), claiming that the "real" West was not won by the fastest gun, but by the steadiest hand. Gene Hackman walks the line of confidence and arrogance with Little Bill and crosses it when he needs to do so--his performance foreshadows his role as a corrupt sheriff in The Quick and the Dead. Little Bill represents the antithesis of William Munny, and becomes the antagonist as a result. But after the final confrontation, there is no sense of victory for William; the barriers that kept out the dreaded vices and evils of the past have been dispelled--revealed to be the illusions they always were.
Recommended for: Fans of a wistful revisiting of the Western, with Clint Eastwood once again in the saddle (literally and figuratively). The melancholy score by Lennie Niehaus also invites the audience to sympathize with the profound regret that burdens William Munny. Unforgiven is a complex story about people drawn into an escalation of violence, forcing them to evaluate their true priorities, acknowledge the darkness within themselves, and forcing them to ask themselves if they deserve to be forgiven.