Review of Unforgiven

I never tire of seeing Unforgiven's ending. I've seen the film five times now and it hasn't gotten old. The tension, the darkness, the rain, the whiskey bottle, and Munny's rising rage all make a great ending that will live as one of the greatest endings to a Western in Cinema history. The contrast presented between Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman is so stark. Like two heavyweights slugging it out to the end with Munny prevailing in cold blooded murder. Unforgiven was released in 1992. It was directed by Eastwood and is the last Western he has made. It would be great if he made another Western, but I think that is only wishful thinking. The film stars Eastwood, Hackmand, Richard Harris, and several other character actors.

The film has several lines of engagement. First is the direct and open story. A prostitute has been cut up by an angry Cowboy. The Sheriff refuses to punish the cowboys to the satisfaction of the group of prostitutes, so they post a bounty of 1000 dollars for the killing of the two cowboys. This leads to English Bob coming to Big Whiskey. He is run out of town by Little Bill (Hackman). The script proceeds along another story line concerning William Munny (Eastwood). Munny is a reformed drunkard and killer. He only grudgingly takes on the bounty hunt. Over the course of the film Munny turns back to his old ways and brutally kills Little Bill. The story of William Munny is intensely engaging. The story follows similar Eastwood Westerns like Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales. They all follow an abuse, recovery, and, finally, vengeance format. This film is no different and the ending is a cathartic release of emotion finally vented on Little Bill and his posse.

I thought Eastwood did a great job. It was typical Clint. The cold stare. The unwavering killer instinct. it was what you would expect in a Western starring Clint Eastwood. There were several scenes when he really showed his age. The script said Munny was in his thirties, clearly in the film he is much older. I liked the almost surrealist dream descriptions of Eastwood's near death dreams. He is totally believable. It's an evolution of his character from previous Westerns. It is deeper with darker psychological aspects. Along with the usual invincible character traits that define his Western persona.
The actors turn in high quality performances. Hackman is great as Little Bill. So is Morgan Freeman and "the Kid." I didn't think for a second that the film was cliched or unbelievable.

The cinematography was great in the film. The dark sequences of the posse riding in with Ned captured and the final scene of Munny riding in to kill Little Bill were done incredibly well. The mise en scene should be commended too. The scene with Munny and Delilah were expertly done. They showed her in the foreground and Munny in the background showing them talking. The same goes for the shots of Munny is sitting at the table and Little Bill harasses him. The revealing of Eastwood's face with dim light was a nice touch. The light revealed his face, then his eyeball only for a second, then his whole face was shown in a pale light through the window. It was all well done and brought out the emotion of the scene showing Munny as a vulnerable character that added to the sympathy we should feel for him.

The film is flawless. Everything works well; the acting, the writing, the shooting, the editing, all great. Unforgiven might be the best Western ever made. It certainly seems it's the best Western of the last few decades. Name one to rival it?

The theme of the film seems to be that no one can be trusted. Everything is up for grabs. Authority is corrupt. Little Bill stands as a big bully who refuses to do the right thing. The only thing left to do is put out a bounty that vigilantes will satisfy. I recently was talking about Unforgiven and I said it was a Post-Modern Western. And I stand by that. The characters are jaded. There is no clear right and wrong. And the subject matter has evolved from the staid Westerns of the 50's and 60's, even Sam Peckinpah's films don't deal with subject matter dealt with in Unforgiven. The movie tells a story about abused prostitutes, when has the ever been done before? I can't think of any other films that show how sex workers suffered in the Old West. It does stick to the old cliche of Westerns; the dead eye who can't be beat. It's a myth of the West, but let's face it the Western as a genre thrives on myth as the film makes clear in the inclusion of the WW Beauchamp character.

Unforgiven is a great film. It's the best Western of the 1990's. Aside from The Assassination of Jesse James, it's undeniably the best Western that's been made in the last few decades. I have yet to see Eastwood's other films that deal with his format of abuse, recovery, and vengeance. These include Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Perhaps Eastwood's format has grown tiresome? Maybe that is why he quit Westerns? I guess we'll have to wait to see why Clint gave up the Western genre. Is it really that bad to be the next John Wayne?