Eastwood feels a lot of gratitude toward The Man with No Name for establishing him as one of the most recognizable actors in history (and he pays his respect to the two men who essentially created his image by dedicating "Unforgiven" to Sergio Leone and Don Siegel), but he bashes The Man in this film. His Will Munny has a name, a kind of sleazy sounding one, too, and he has all the problems and baggage 'Blondie' in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" never knew existed. In fact, Munny has been saddled with all kinds of character: used to be a cold-blooded killer, was reformed by a religious, loving woman who turned him to Christ - she died leaving him sad, lonely, 20 years 'on the wagon,' and devoutly Christian still (if more for her memory than for himself). On top of all this, he's a pig farmer raising two small children, still dragging around in his heart the guilt from having once "killed nearly everything that walked or crawled."
Well, trouble strikes and, as is typical in this genre, a character straps the guns on one last time. However, Eastwood and writer Peoples handle things in a very atypical manner. Munny is sometimes weak, frightened, and pitiable. Morgan Freeman is his partner, providing that actor's trademark calm and reason, and Jaimz Woolvett is Freeman's opposite - the jittery and immature, a teen-ager who reckons to become the next 'Billy,' and actually [seems] to look forward to going down in a blaze of glory. Woolvett has an amazing showcase here, and it's surprising to me that he has virtually disappeared since (with naught but bit parts in "Rosewood" and "Dead Presidents" to show for himself). Equally good are Gene Hackman, Saul Rubinek, and Richard Harris (especially) as a trio of negative forces, and Frances Fisher also has a few brief but strong scenes. People will always remember Clint the actor for moments like his holding an entire saloon at bay with a shotgun, but quieter moments, like the handling of Clint's first swig in two decades, is why we'll remember him as a director. One of the few films in recent years to deserve the Best Picture Oscar.
Well, trouble strikes and, as is typical in this genre, a character straps the guns on one last time. However, Eastwood and writer Peoples handle things in a very atypical manner. Munny is sometimes weak, frightened, and pitiable. Morgan Freeman is his partner, providing that actor's trademark calm and reason, and Jaimz Woolvett is Freeman's opposite - the jittery and immature, a teen-ager who reckons to become the next 'Billy,' and actually [seems] to look forward to going down in a blaze of glory. Woolvett has an amazing showcase here, and it's surprising to me that he has virtually disappeared since (with naught but bit parts in "Rosewood" and "Dead Presidents" to show for himself). Equally good are Gene Hackman, Saul Rubinek, and Richard Harris (especially) as a trio of negative forces, and Frances Fisher also has a few brief but strong scenes. People will always remember Clint the actor for moments like his holding an entire saloon at bay with a shotgun, but quieter moments, like the handling of Clint's first swig in two decades, is why we'll remember him as a director. One of the few films in recent years to deserve the Best Picture Oscar.