Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Unforgiven-BS
The Revisionist Western traces to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some post WWII Western films began to question the ideals and style of the traditional Western. Elements include a darker, more cynical tone, with focus on the lawlessness of the time period, favoring realism over romanticism. Anti-heroes are common, as are stronger roles for women and more sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans. This idea of a revisionist western can be seen in Unforgiven (1992). In the film, William Munny, a widower who was once a well-known bandit, is asked to return to his old ways and assassinate wanted cowboys. He recruits Ned Logan, another retired gunfighter who reluctantly leaves his wife to go along. Munny who has had a history with alcohol dives deeper into his past when he learns of Logans death and swears to get revenge. In Unforgiven, we see a new image of the alpha male cowboy. Someone who is vulnerable and loses his skills with the gun after taking some number of years off.
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In 1992 the revisionist film Unforgiven was released, depicting an entirely new genre of western films. After WWII, western films began to question classic westerns evolving into what is now the Revisionist Western. A characteristic of the Revisionist Western is a more sympathetic portrayal of "the others." This is evident in the film Unforgiven because of the depiction of the alpha male cowboy Ned, played by Morgan Freeman. Ned is an African American but seen as an equal to his partner Munny, played by Clint Eastwood. Munny recruits Ned to help him in the assassination of two other cowboys. Throughout the film, both of the men are constantly switching and interchanging roles, showing that neither one has more power over the other. Also, Munny, Ned, and Kid agree to split the reward for the assassination of the men equally, which is unusual because in society African Americans would never receive the same pay for a job as white men. In addition, in previous westerns, most African Americans are uneducated, but proves he is knowledgeable when he figures out that Kid is nearsighted.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of this film that makes is a Revisionist Western is the fact that the Munny the alpha male cowboy has a dark past filled with killing and drinking. Munny show he is a changed man when he remains loyal to his dead wife by rejecting the prostitute’s offers. However, he does somewhat revert back to his old ways by fulfilling his duties as an alpha male and getting revenge on Ned death. This film displays realism over romanticism in western films and shows the difficulty the cowboys face when they are asked to kill another man.