An Unforgivable Pun For An Unforgivably Good Film
Director: Clint (I’m a squinty eyed hard man) Eastwood
William Munny: Clint (I can direct and act at the same time) Eastwood
Little Bill Dagget: Gene (You’ll like me at the beginning but not later) Hackman
Ned Logan: Morgan (I somehow end up in every film because of my voice) Freeman
English Bob: Richard (I was a better Dumbledore than Michael Gambon) Harris
*****
Despite a rocky start to this deceivingly macho film comes a beautifully acted and surprisingly thought provoking Western which makes me reconsider the credibility of the genre. It takes a step away from the mindless killing of old style Westerns and even finds time to ask some disturbing moral questions while at the same time quenching any red blooded male’s thirst for unadulterated bloodshed.
The Main Plot; in a nutshell; a prostitute gets some cuts on her face from a randy customer and as payment Little Bill (Gene Hackman) decides that giving their pimp some horses will sort it all out. The prostitutes; scorned and disliking being likened to horses get all pissed off and use all of their hard earned money (another beautiful pun) to put a bounty on the blokey’s heads. What follows are several scenes depicting Little Bill’s, “I ain’t takin’ no shit attitude”, one with an unexpected yet expectedly brilliant appearance from Richard Harris. Meanwhile William Munny (Eastwood) a retired ruthless Cowboy sets off with a partially blind teenage wannabe Cowboy who predictably ends up being a wimp and a weary Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman, in a Western?! I’m not usually a fan but he provides a nice performance) to whore themselves to the prostitutes; beautiful irony.
The biggest downfall to this somewhat superb and engrossing film is a shoddily put together toddler-esque gravestone with horribly pretty writing. How can a such a small detail ruin a film I hear you cry?! Very bloody easily! But if you want an entertaining film, go no further, once you’re through the first ten minutes and have gotten used to the horribly false and comical ‘Cowbooooy Twang’ you’ll be set for a mighty fine two hours.
The Bit You Only Read If You’ve Seen The Film Or You Want To Know How It Ends Without Going Through The Torture Of Watching It
So, I made it through the film feeling pretty certain that it was going to be a brilliant film that would leave me feeling all fantastic about being human. William Munny has shown throughout, his contempt for killing and his ‘changed ways’. I liked this, I thought, ‘Woo!! Yeah!! Respectable protaganist in a Western!’ Up until the ending I was under the impression that the pointlessness of Western tavern brawls is exactly what Eastwood was trying to show through the aged Munny. But it seems in the final scene he got bored of peace and thought, “Screw this, films with feeling suck, I gone kill some peoples”. And so with a swig of whiskey and a healthy helping of gunpowder, Munny kills a load of people and walks of into the rainy sunset. And I am left wandering, why?! This and the subtley implied homosexual relationship between Little Bill and the bloke writing the books (why else would they both be alone at Bill’s - who we assume has no wife - house looking all flustered?) leave me slightly confused as to Clint’s intentions for this damn good film!
