“It’s a grounded, relatable, and raw look at violence. Unforgiven isn’t just a great Western... it’s a layered masterpiece about the heavy burden of cold justice.”
UNFORGIVEN was a revisionist Western film released in 1992, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as William Munny. It also starred Gene Hackman as Sheriff Little Bill and Morgan Freeman as Ned. It’s basically about a super washed-up, retired killer who’s trying to raise pigs, but he’s broke. So, he straps his guns back on to grab a cash bounty on some guys who beat up a prostitute. He drags his old buddy and a cocky young kid along for the ride, but things go totally off the rails when they run into a brutal local sheriff who beats people half to death just to keep order. This forces the old guy to turn back into the absolute terrifying monster he used to be to settle the score.
Moving right along on my Clint Eastwood-directed films marathon, I’m onto #16... Unforgiven. I was told in no uncertain terms that this film may actually be Eastwood’s best work. Previously, I covered Steven Spielberg’s filmography. With Spielberg, I was surprised to see he only ever won Oscars for two films: Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. Similarly, Clint Eastwood also only ever won Oscars for two movies: Million Dollar Baby, which I’ll see eventually, and his first Oscar win for Unforgiven. This film won Best Picture and Best Director, and Eastwood was even nominated for Best Actor as well. He didn’t win... but that’s high praise for somebody like Clint Eastwood. So, naturally, I was expecting a big bump up in quality from where I’ve been so far with his stuff... and without giving too much away, I can certainly say this film didn’t disappoint.
Being somebody who isn’t exactly well-versed in Western cinema, I can’t exactly say I’ve seen enough of them to say which one is the best. I certainly haven’t seen any of them starring Clint Eastwood that he didn’t direct... so none of those The Good, the Bad and the Ugly films, for instance. However, out of every Western I have seen from the man, Unforgiven undoubtedly takes the cake as his best. Recently, I watched Open Range with Kevin Costner, which was probably the first Western movie that I ever thoroughly enjoyed... but I’m definitely going to add Unforgiven to that list.
While the film still operates like a typical Western on the surface, Unforgiven is a layered and complex film that flips the script on everything that came before it, including Eastwood’s own archetypal roles in the genre. What I mean by that is, with classic Westerns, you typically had this lone, tough-as-nails character who would ride in out of nowhere, shoot his guns all over the place, and save the day. Everyone loved them. Kids wanted to be cowboys. They were just a rootin’-tootin’ good time. In Unforgiven, the goal was very clearly to showcase the weight of coming into a town and shooting people, watching them slowly die out. Maybe they had it coming... maybe they didn’t... but it rarely makes a difference. Each death in this film carries with it a heavy burden that these “heroes” or “assassins” have to come to terms with. You can easily tell that it’s not easy on any of them, because even though they’re taking out the bad guys, they’re still taking out human beings. A line spoken by Clint Eastwood in the film paints the picture perfectly:
“It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.”
What the film ultimately does is showcase the concept of cold justice better than just about any film I’ve ever seen. Imagine watching John Wick go through his endless victims, and then afterwards, go off in a corner to cry or spiral out over what he’s done. It would be ridiculous in John Wick... but here, it fits really well. It’s grounded, relatable, and raw. The character development is strong in this film, and I fully understand where a lot of those Oscar wins originated from. It’s a solid film. Just think about what this movie was up against at the Oscars for Best Picture... A Few Good Men... and it beat that. That’s nothing short of spectacular.
Don’t forget who else is in this film. Most will remember Clint Eastwood for his role, but it also stars Morgan Freeman as a retired rifle marksman, and the sheriff of the town, Little Bill, is played by the late, great Gene Hackman. I don’t think it’s any secret that both of these men are powerhouse actors in their own right, and I’ve rarely seen them play a bad role or take part in a bad film. Gene Hackman, specifically, probably has more titles that I haven’t seen... and he always impresses me.
What I found interesting about Little Bill is that nobody in this movie is strictly right or wrong in their actions. Therefore, I don’t think anybody is purely likeable or unlikeable. They’re all just doing their part and living their lives. That plays true when the Schofield Kid says they had it comin’, and Clint Eastwood looks over at him and says, “We all have it coming, kid.” I can literally see the perspective of every character here. Everyone has a different idea of what justice looks like. When the men cut up the woman at the start of the film, the Sheriff does punish the men... he just does it in a way that he deems proper, though it can be argued it was a mere slap on the wrist when it comes to a punishment fitting the crime.
Back in the day, and even to this day, the way women are treated is horrible, and we really should have more men ready to step up and do what’s right. However, it’s also important to note that not all women need a knight in shining armor to save them. They’re not all damsels in distress. I feel like Unforgiven might give off that idea a little bit. The women in the film are entirely ignored and overlooked, never taken seriously, and they are rarely seen outside of this one room the entire time while all the men fight and do the things. Had this movie been remade today, I almost want to say the plot would be the same... except the women would band together and they would be the ones to take revenge against the men, rather than hiring hitmen to do it for them. Maybe that’s just me.
Overall, a great Western. Maybe not the best Western... because that’s a hotel.
Technical/Unbiased Score: 45/50 (90%)
Biased/Entertainment Score: 47/50 (94%)
Total Combined Score: 92/100 (92%) or 4.5/5 on Letterboxd