Movie review- unforgiven

Essay by maheUniversity, Bachelor's May 2002

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UNFORGIVEN

A former assassin William T. Munny (Clint Eastwood) leads a peaceful and quiet life together with his children on the farm. One day his quiescence is disturbed by a young travelling gunman Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett). He tries to talk Will into being his partner for shooting two men and collecting a thousand dollars bounty. Munny does not accept the proposal at first but the money tempts him. He sets out after Kid some time later and allies with the former partner of his Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman).

The movie is a satire, typical anti-western about a reformed gunman who comes out of retirement for one last job. Odd as it may seem, the viewer sympathizes immediately with the character played by Eastwood regardless of his criminal past. His is an old-timer who can neither shoot nor mount his horse properly anymore. One could say that his character in a way resembles that of Chaplin, however, not by means of grace but rather by the very tragic nature.

He lives in a world where there is obviously a lot of violence. He is a typical looser. He rears his two kids alone and chases pigs in the backyard, whereas others live their lives to the full. Yet, he takes up this quest, a pursuit after money that he hopes to collect. It is probably rendered by the fact that he is not prosperous on his farm. His wife passed on a couple of years before and left him with the offspring. Righteous and just man as he is, he wants to secure his children with better future. If it were not for them he would not take the "job". What is more, the two men he is to kill surely deserved their death so in a way...