In what has been hailed as the last great Western that will ever be made (though I recommend the recent "Tombstone" as well), Clint Eastwood proved that he is capable of creating a masterpiece. The amazing script, which slowly turns from what looks like any other decent western into an intricate study of morality and mortality and eventually, a message arises of the horrors of violence. Yet, it is Eastwood who truly does take this film up to the next level and then up several levels more. His bold, stylish camera work makes this film pristine and conveys every mood he wants to convey in every scene so that you could watch it with the sound turned off and still feel every emotion intended with every scene. Also, in front of the camera, Eastwood's performance is his greatest to date. He embodies William Munny perfectly. You see that he is a good man, a reformed and repented man. You sense the good that his former wife did him. And at the same time, you can almost feel those demons that used to rule him. The carries with him a brooding presence and you just know that this man has seen evil... he has been a part of it. The greatest struggle in this film, the suppression of carnal instincts, occurs within this man. And you watch that happen throughout the entire film, occurring all within him. Also, stellar performances by Gene Hackman (for which he won an Oscar), Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris maintain this films excellence. Also, Jaimz Woolvett delivers an emotionally dynamic performance as a naive young man, trying to prove his self-worth and maturity by trying to become the kind of killer Munny used to be, though the message is eventually delivered... what William Munny used to be is the opposite of self-worth and maturity. It was an animalistic and berserk nature that everyone harbors, and it is only through determination and courage that they can be overcome.
Review of Unforgiven
