Unforgiven
Unforgiven is a 1992 Western film which tells the story of a retired gunslinger who takes on one more job in order to avenge a prostitute who was brutally slashed. It stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett, Saul Rubinek and Frances Fisher.
The movie was written by David Webb Peoples and directed by Eastwood.
It won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Clint Eastwood), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
After a prostitute is brutally slashed in the face by two customers, her co-workers offer a $500 reward to anyone who kills them. William Munny (Eastwood), a retired gunfighter and now a pig farmer, recruits a former associate Ned Logan (Freeman) to hunt down the two men responsible for the attack on the prostitute. On their way, they pick up The Schofield Kid (Woolvett), who had told Munny about the reward. After reaching town on a cold, rainy night, they enter a saloon for a drink and inquire about the reward. Munny remains at a table while Logan and the Kid go upstairs for some bedroom fun with the ladies. While waiting for his friends to return, Little Bill Daggett, the local sheriff, discovers Munny is wearing a gun (a town ordinance prohibits guns — due to the stormy night, Munny failed to see the sign stating as such when they entered the town). Little Bill beats up Munny and Munny manages to drag himself out out of the saloon. Logan and the Kid manage to get Munny out of town to high country above the town. Once Munny has recovered sufficiently from his injuries, the three men kill one of the two cowboys by ambushing him in a canyon. After that, Logan realizes he no longer has the desire for such bloodshed and decides to head home. Munny and the Kid find the other cowboy holed up in an isolated shack, guarded by several associates. When the hunted cowboy goes to the outhouse alone, The Schofield Kid shoots him at point blank range while the cowboy is relieving himself. Logan is captured and brought back to Little Bill where the sheriff tries to beat all the information he can out of Logan. Little Bill goes too far with a bullwhip and Logan dies and is subsequently put on display in an open box outside the saloon. The next day, one of the prostitutes brings the reward money to Munny and The Kid and tells him of the death of Logan. This angers Munny and he begins drinking again and subsequently goes into town to confront the sheriff. Munny walks into the saloon, where Little Bill reveals some of Munny's violent past as a gunfighter and outlaw. A gun battle ensues where Munny kills five men and seriously wounds Little Bill. While Munny is reloading a shotgun, he hears Little Bill reach for his gun and kicks it out of his hand. Little Bill realizes what follows and says "See you in hell William Munny", to which Munny replies "Yea" and kills Little Bill with the shotgun. Munny escapes from town and the closing commentary indicates that Munny and his two children left the farm and apparently moved to San Francisco.
While most Western films glorify violence as a justifiable means to an end, Unforgiven tries to depict violence more realistically as something that harms everyone around it.
Notable lines
- "Hell of a thing killing a man... you take away all he has and all that he will ever have." - Munny
- "You just shot an unarmed man" (Little Bill) ... "Then he should have armed himself if he is going to decorate his saloon with my friend" (Munny).
