Review of Unforgiven (1992) by Alexander T — 14 Mar 2011

Although I'll admit Eastwood is no Brando when it comes to big-screen cinema acting chops (he's probably the first big-name cinema actor that comes to mind that I think wouldn't stand a chance on Broadway), it's pretty hard to deny that I'd rather face Mike Tyson in his heyday in a dark alley over William Munny at the end of this movie.

One reviewer wrote that there's no dramatic urgency here. I think it's exactly the opposite- this is a classic version of how a well-designed story arc creates tremendous dramatic urgency by relying on each scene to further delineate the "unforgiven" theme.

Although the journey of Eastwood in this film would satisfy me enough to consider it a fine film, however, it is the supporting cast, from the omnipresent ensemble like Hackman, the whores, Freeman, and the Kid, to the episodic exploits of bit-players like Richard Harris and Saul Rubinek that put this film into the "all-time best" category.

The most enduring image to me from this film is when Munny rides off into the dark thunderstorm after utterly decimating poor little Big Whiskey, and we see the start of all the trouble - the young, disfigured whore - longingly admiring a man who just murdered the sheriff, the saloonkeeper, and several other "innocent" lawmen in cold blood.

We see the wry smile and longing eyes on her young, snow-white, disfigured face and completely accept her infatuation with the lecherous gunslinging killer who only days earlier was a broken-down pig farmer who couldn't hit a gas can with a pistol 20 feet in front of him.

Westerns are the ultimate machisimo fantasies for men, and there is no greater badass than William Munny, played by one of the all-time biggest badasses himself.