- When we first meet William Munny (Clint Eastwood), he's flailing around in the mud, struggling to corral some pigs. These days, the aging farmer can't even hit a tin can with a pistol, and it's a real battle for him to mount a horse. It's therefore tough to imagine that Will was once a killer of women and children and "just about anything that walked or crawled." It's because of his onetime career as an outlaw, however, that Will wonders if the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett) is coming to kill him "for something (he'd) done in the old days". Instead, the amateurish Kid seeks to enlist Will's help in collecting the bounty on a couple of cattlemen, one of whom brutally attacked a prostitute in the small town of Big Whiskey. Although Will pleads that his late wife cured him of killing and other "wickedness," he finally decides to pursue the reward for the sake of his children. Along the way, Will collects his reliable old partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), and they catch up with the Kid on the trail. While the Kid is eager to hear accounts of the legendary exploits of William Munny, Will only insists that he "ain't like that no more."
- The first bounty hunter to arrive in Big Whiskey, however, is the infamous killer English Bob (Richard Harris). Bob is one of the most memorable characters ever to appear in any Western, devilishly provoking his fellow train passengers with a monologue on why it's easier to kill a president than a king. Bob even brings along his own biographer, the sheepish Mr. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), who portrays Bob as a dime-novel hero, the "Duke of Death." Given the rumors that Bob "works for the railroad shooting Chinamen," it seems that Mr. Beauchamp has employed more than a little poetic license. Unfortunately for Bob, his disregard for Big Whiskey's gun ordinance quickly brings him into contact with his old acquaintance, Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman).
- Little Bill is an interesting case. As Sheriff of Big Whiskey, he professes no tolerance for assassins and other "men of low character." In theory, this sounds reasonable. In practice, however, Little Bill's philosophy produces an overly lenient penalty for the two cattlemen, a merciless beating for English Bob, and the promise of trouble for Will, Ned, and The Kid. As Little Bill commandeers Mr. Beauchamp and disillusions the writer of his romantic conceptions of the West, it quickly becomes obvious that this Sheriff is not your traditional noble lawman. He has all the strength and courage of a hero, but he's full of bad angles, just like the house he's building. When Little Bill's violent bullying finally escalates into murder, William Munny returns to Big Whiskey for one final, memorable showdown.
- I can heap no higher praise upon Unforgiven than to say that it may have eliminated the need for any more Westerns. That's not to say that there won't be more great films in this genre, but it's not obvious to me that there's anything important left for them to say. The writing, acting, settings, and cinematography are all spot-on, making this one of the most engaging and beautiful Westerns ever. The real accomplishment of Unforgiven, though, is that it forms the best modern answer to the traditional Western myths, many of which were sculpted in part by Eastwood in his younger days. Gone are honest sheriffs, dastardly outlaws, and expert marksmen. Now we have vicious tyrants with badges, reluctant bounty hunters, and inaccurate gunmen with misfiring weapons. Whereas John Wayne or Gene Autry might happily have ridden off into the sunset, Clint Eastwood uses Unforgiven to ride off into a black, rainy night.
