Unforgiven

Unforgiven (1992 - Clint Eastwood)

I typically love dark movies, and Unforgiven is no exception.  It is a cold movie about the harsh realty of death.  This is true from the very first shot of the movie, when we see William Munny digging his wife's grave.  Munny was a thief and a killer back in the day...a bad man.  But it was his pious wife who died before him.  There is no justice with death.  As Munny says at one point in the film, "we all have it coming, kid."

Munny was supposedly a changed man because of his wife.  He had not killed a man in 11 years.  Despite this, he joins a young cowboy in a mission to kill two "bad" cowboys for $1000.  Is it okay for him to kill these "bad" cowboys, because supposedly they cut up a defenseless whore?  Is he still a good person, or is he a bad guy like in his earlier years?  These answers are debatable, and this is why it's a great film.  There is no black and white, no good guys and bad guys.  It matters when people die, whether you perceive them as good or bad.  When Munny shoots the first of the two cowboys, the scene doesn't end with the successful shot.  Instead the scene is drawn out, and we see him hurt, thirsty & vulnerable.  Eastwood wants the viewer to see his humanity, that death is real for everybody. 

The film is also about the stories about the wild west.  The view of people as not being good or bad, and showing us the reality of death...they lend themselves to this film being a real portrayal of the "wild west."  We see English Bob (aka the "Duke of Death") and the author that follows him around.  We hear Little Bill's different version of the English Bob's stories.  We know about the "legend" of William Munny, and how he was such a great killer.  The film is littered with supposed legendary wild west stories.  But it seems that all the stories are hyperbole's.  None of them are real tellings of real stories.  And as we see the film play out, we get a front row seat of a real western story - the showdown between William Munny and Little Bill.  There is no honorable duel between the two.  It isn't about the one who has the quickest draw.  Instead it's a real picture of one man killing another man. 

Unforgiven - 9 out of 10