Posted | 0 Comments

Unforgiven (1992) – Clint Eastwood – Movie review

Clint Eastwoods "Unforgiven" is a western movie about Will Munny, an old outlaw that has retired from his life of killing and drinking.  Reformed by his wife who has since past, he raises his two children on a piece of land away from the [/caption]town of Big Whiskey.  The town of Big Whiskey is the classic western setting with a brothel, cowboys, and a sheriff who is not so just.  The true premise of this movie deals with a writer who embellishes stories of gunslingers that he follows around.  His writings demonstrate the glamorous side of outlaws while the reality of the situations and events are shown in the movie to be much grittier.

Most western movies have traditionally shown a clear line as to good and bad and sometimes push the viewer towards loving the villain and or cheering for the good guy.  This movie blurs these lines with reality.  Our hero is a man who wants to do good and believes he has changed but the reality is that he is ice when it comes to killing another man.  There is no shoot out in the street between the good guy and the bad guy, rather a mess of gun fire at the end showing the reality of how hard it is to hit a person with a small bullet especially when you are scared and trying not to get hit.

This is an excellent movie that is worth watching.  Clint Eastwood has an excellent mind for finding what appear to be simple stories and masterfully presenting them in a way that resonates with many.  I had to wonder if one of the simple messages he was offering was not to believe everything you read or see as true depictions of events.  I had to ask why in a western there was so much emphasis given to the part of a writer that depicts the biographies of the these outlaws only to find that he admits to embellishing for readers to eat up his writings.  I also think that there is a message of inevitability and fragility of life.  In so many movies people are killed like stepping on ants while this movie stops to take notice of the death of a terrible man leaving you feeling as though he shouldn't have died.

Watch it … four thumbs up.

Read More