Unforgiven (1992)
This is the third time that I have watched this film. The previous two times that I have watched it, I found myself enjoying it, but feeling that it was just slightly lacking in something.
It was the same story on the third viewing.
It's a great story of an old gunslinger with a questionable past, that has found himself somewhere near rock bottom, and he is presented with an opportunity to change that by a mouthy young kid. He sets out in pursuit of that opportunity, but that will mean that he has to return to the life that he had previously turned his back on.
The film is beautifully shot and well cast, but I feel that too much time is focused on areas that don't matter. For me there is too much needless dialogue taking place on horseback or around a camp fire etc, that leads to any of the more action dense scenes feeling a bit rushed, particularly the culmination of the film. I also think that something is lost in the fact that there is two main story lines. I thinkit would be better if the focus was on catching those that Eastwood and his squad are pursuing or the scoundrel of a sheriff. Having both just seems to dlute it for me.
What I do like a lot is the step away from cliche. Munny is a complex character that hasn't been a pleasant character. The film doesn't seek to justify this or even to redeem him, so much as you can't fully buy into his noble aim. He isn't trying to earn redemption for the wrong that he has done, he just wants money. We don't see a likeable man under a tough, troubled exterior. He simply isn't that nice, which is refreshing, but it does make rooting for him fully a bit more of a leap, although Little Bill (Hackman) makes that a bit easier for the viewer. As I say, I found it refreshing to have a western that doesn't simply present us with the good guys to cheer for against the nasty bad guys, more so, it presents us with a choice of who is the least bad.
Overall, I found it complex and raw, yet it could be so much more. (unintentional rhyming)
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"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)
"I don't want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me" (Frank Costello)
Last edited by Sarge; 03-13-20 at 04:31 AM.