William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who bru...
Unforgiven compassionately explores the consequence of violence through reflective lyricism. Big Whiskey, Wyoming. The year is 1880. A dilapidated brothel overlooks the tranquil town. Two cowboys visit the busty females at the heart of the second floor, attacking and disfiguring a prostitute in the process. The local sheriff demands the offenders to offer up several steeds as compensation for the brothel owner. Outraged by the savagery that had just taken place, the women revoke. Demanding that further punishment should be issued. Ignoring the sheriff’s behest, a bounty of one thousand dollars is issued for the killing of these two heinous cowboys. Distressed by the plausible increased rate of bounty hunters, the sheriff enforces newly commissioned anti-firearm rules to discourage possible mercenaries from pursuing the bounty. But for widowed father of two William Munny, previously a notorious outlaw and murderer, the reward deemed a solid opportunity to solidify his children’s future. With the assistance of the youthfully egotistical “Schofield Kid” and fellow retired outlaw Ned Logan, they venture cross country on horseback to claim the bounty. Beginning a thematic pursuit for characterised reflection.
Eastwood’s Academy Award winning Western is undoubtedly one of his greatest cinematic achievements. Unforgiven is the culmination of Eastwood’s career as a significant cultural icon in spaghetti Westerns, fully realised in a harshly conceived two-hour epic. A poignant meditation of personable proportions. From a “Man With No Name” whom embodied the masculinity of smouldering Hollywood leading actors, to a frail mellowing worker helplessly ignoring the pleas of the ever-growing crowds begging for one more merciless shootout sequence. His character, Munny, personifies the career of Eastwood and compresses it into an emotionally charged outburst of genre adoration. Every style of acting that Eastwood had learnt from auteur mentors Leone and Siegel, from arduous unflinching stares to nuanced emotional complexities, possessed the central character that powered Unforgiven. Supplying a contemplative tone for Eastwood to unleash, granting him one final outgoing within the genre to consummate his memorable work.
Each significant murder taking a toll on Munny’s soul, as if reflecting the onerous work that Eastwood himself had participated in, illustrating his repentance as a retired outlaw. There’s a substantial thematic exploration into the nature of violence and the consequences of pursuing brutality within Peoples’ screenplay. A narrative strand that increasingly becomes more apt with each passing year. Sheriff “Little Bill” epitomising the repression of his town’s firearms, whilst tyrannically controlling violence as a statement of fear. Exceptionally performed by Hackman whom produced a menacing figure of authority with ruthless confrontations and consequential lines of dialogue. “Schofield Kid” symbolising a young enthusiastic Eastwood whom embraced the violence of classic spaghetti Westerns. Freeman’s sombre role as Logan renouncing the life that Eastwood once prevailed in, encompassing a slight sense of morality.
All of these characters encircle the bleak aesthetic that Eastwood acutely directs, surmounting the Hollywood clichés that anchored the genre down for years. The Western wilderness drained of its ravishing life. The wooden panels buckling under the severe weathering. The production design, captured through Green’s sumptuous cinematography, was breathtaking.
Unfortunately though, Unforgiven is equipped with a few criticisms that cannot escape my own forgiveness. Logan, being the sole black character of the feature, is the only visible individual to be shown whipped (with white criminals bypassing the punishment). Most likely a coincidence, but such ignorance comes at a badly aged price. The outstanding character of “English Bob”, played eloquently by Harris, was instantly redundant by never interacting with Munny. Impeccable scenes with the town’s sheriff, and my personal favourite confrontations, yet superfluous in nature. Never surmounting to anything proficiently contextual other than non-substantial filler. The epilogue title card also concluded proceedings through an abrupt style, disallowing the previous aggressively tense thirty minutes from simmering.
Still, regardless of these reservations, Unforgiven refuses to just be a revisionist Western with tantalising characters. It’s a tale of personal measures. A therapeutic journey for its director and leading actor, whom had contributed in the paving of cinema to be what it is today. An unforgiving revenge tale that grants passage to the cruelty of man’s violence. Eastwood, you left the genre with your head held high!
