A great man once said "The past belongs in the past". And do you know what? He's right you know! History is always a subjective thing given the benefit of hindsight. Because memories can change direction in the same manner as a tempestuous summer's day breeze. Just ask Actor / Director: Clint Eastwood, as well as Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris. But only ask them in 1992 and for 131 minutes. Unforgiven
THE STORY:
America - 1880 - and a young wannabe outlaw, called The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), bestows onto one time legendary assassin, William Munny (Clint Eastwood), a very simple proposition...
"Come with me to Texas
Regrettably, though, William refuses the kid's offer
straight away. He has a farm to tend to. Two children to feed. A dead
wife's memory to preserve. Plus he is a bit rusty when is comes to killing folks
for a living.
However, not so long after the kid and William parts ways,
William changes his mind about this matter, as he desperately needs some money
so he can provide for his kin. Therefore, he travels to his old friend place, Ned
Logan (Morgan Freeman), and asks Ned if he and his wife can look over his
children for him, whilst he is away.
Ned's wife does - whereas Ned accompanies William on his
mission.
Meanwhile, over in Texas
Heck, Bill is so violent, that he beats up Bob, he disgraces
Bob, and he forces him to leave his jurisdiction with his tail in-between his
legs. Moreover, he does that same thing too when William turn up too!
Damn!
Still, three days after all of this happens, the times
change as quickly as the wounds heals from Williams beating. And I suppose that
is why what next transpires is a right rooting tooting free for all I can tell
you! As death comes in three's - culprits are hung by trees - vengeance comes a
knocking - and some men will never be stopping.
An End.
THE REVIEW:
OK, I have to be honest with you, 'Unforgiven' is one of my
all time favourite classic westerns in cinematic history. The story is simple
yet multi-layered. The ambience is moody and atmospheric in ton. The casting
is inspired . And it also comes with one simple ingredient to make it stand out
from the crowd, Clint Eastwood.
You see, Clint brings something to this movie that no other
actor ever could - his own association with this genre, a humility that is
purely his own, plus a way of looking at things that is very fresh and dynamic.
To elaborate: (1) The inclusion of the W. W. Beauchamp
character, as played by Saul Rubinek, is a very cleaver plot device that is at
the core of this film, because conceptually, it shows how history is always being re-written by the media. You see, for many years now, most of Clint's projects have had an alternate yet
truthful take on popular fiction, conveying that not always see what you believe. In many ways Beachamp is the precursor too many of
the films Clint saw when he was a child - perverting youthful minds with a
fictionalised version of the truth. (2) The William Munny character is easily
an evolution of some of the other maverick outlaws Clint has played when he was
younger. It was very nice to see that Clint recognized this aspect within
William, thus giving him the opportunity to dabble about within his own myth,
whilst expanding upon a new one. (3) The
world of 'Unforgiven' is masked in shades of grey, because all of the main
protagonists feel that what they are doing is for the right reasons. The
prostitutes feel justified for placing a bounty on the heads of those cowboys,
because the law turned its back on them when they desperately needed them.
William and Ned feel justified for going after this bounty, because they need
the money to tend to their own families. And Bill feels justified for behaving
in the way that he does, because deep inside he sees himself as a wholesome
peacemaker, trying to defend his town by reasonable means.
True, right? All of these things are pure Clint through and
though. Just like these facts: (1)
Clint dedicated this movie to two of his directorial mentors. Don Siegel [from
Dirty Harry] and Sergio Leone [from The Dollars Trilogy]. (2) Clint's mother
had a small part in this flick, but she was cut out from its final release due
to its running time. Clint apologized to her whilst he was accepting his Oscar.
(3) Clint wrote the main theme for this movie with some assistance from
composer, Lennie Niehaus. (4) The screenplay, written by David Peoples, drifted
around for nearly thirteen years before Clint Eastwood bought the writes to
make it. Moreover, it took Clint an extra seven years before he actually got
around to do it. (5) Clint asked Gene Hackman to base his character on
the then Los Angeles Hollywood movie star, John Wayne. Plus
the term 'Snake Eyes' was in reference to Lee Van Cleef, Clint's co-star in two
of the 'Dollars Trilogy'.
Well, if you have not guessed by now, for me, 'Unforgiven'
is an unforgettable film. Its a land mark movie for Clint, and I have to
mention the magnificent performances by Morgan (sexy voice) Freeman, Gene (I'm
a nice guy, honestly) Hackman, and Richard (I am good at playing b*stards) Harris.
Also, the rest of the cast did a bang up job as well, just like this, my favourite
scene from this movie...
A true classic. I cannot say any more than that, can I
THE RATING: A+
