Movie Revisit: Unforgiven (1992)

Hiya, pardner. So as like… two and a half of ya might remember, to celebrate this blog’s tenth anniversary, I’d revisit some of the first few things I ever reviewed on it. And we’re kicking it off with the first film I ever wrote about on here. So let’s go.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Unforgiven”.

Once upon a time, William Munny (Clint Eastwood) was known as the deadliest outlaw, but he has since retired and become a farmer. However, this quiet life gets put on hold as Munny decides to take on one last bounty hunt with an old friend (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky whippersnapper (Jaimz Woolvett). The story of “Unforgiven” is not one of simple rootin’ tootin’ hijinkss. It’s a moody tale of self-reflection, giving us a repentant exploration of morality, pain, and guilt, how time can make violence and past mistakes turn us bitter and damaged. How insecurities and our actions can create so much hurt. It’s a tale that can be gritty and intense, but also surprisingly tender and heartfelt, and I found it riveting from start to end.

The characters in this are fantastic. They’re all these complexly woven, very well realized figures, showing us all their sides over the course of the movie. They’re some of the richest characters I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in a western. From our leading man being full of regret over what he’s done, to a young man with a secret, to a sheriff that can be as jovial as he can be violent. And I find all of them really engaging. What also helps is the cast, all of whom are fantastic. Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Jaimz Woolvett, Frances Fisher, Richard Harris, Saul Rubinek, and more, there’s not a weak link here.

The score for the movie was composed by Lennie Niehaus, and it’s stellar. Dark and brooding, but with an underlying sorrow to it that gives it this chilling sense of foreboding. It helps build some really good suspense and even gives certain scenes a bit of a horror-y vibe. There’s also a recurring motif in the score called “Claudia’s Theme”, composed by Clint Eastwood himself, and it’s an emotional powerhouse of a piece. Its main melody being a fairly simple series of notes played primarily on the B-string on an acoustic guitar. It shows up a few times throughout the movie, melding marvelously with Niehaus’ moody-broody musings, making for just an emotionally rich soundscape.

Written by David Peoples, “Unforgiven” was directed by Clint Eastwood, and I think this might be some of his strongest direction. Sweeping, yet intimate. Big, but also not so big that you lose scope of the small, important moments between characters. It manages to feel grandiose without really going for a super huge scale. But what makes it shine even brighter is the cinematography by Jack N. Green, which is not only pure eye candy at times with some marvelous use of light and shadow, but it also works in tandem with Eastwood’s direction to create a stunningly crafted visual experience that always keeps the characters in focus.

This movie’s been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 96% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 85/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8.2/10, and is ranked #147 on their “Top 250” list. The movie won 4 Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Director, and Best Editing. It was also nominated for an additional 5 Oscars in the categories of Best Actor (Eastwood), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Set Decoration, and Best Sound.

So yeah, “Unforgiven” still absolutely holds up. It has a great story, fantastic characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Unforgiven” is a 9.91/10. Which means that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My revisit of “Unforgiven” is now completed.

So what’s next on the revisit agenda? I ain’t tellin’, you just have to stay tuned.