MovieChat Forums > Unforgiven (1992) Discussion > The shootout and the ending text contrad...

The shootout and the ending text contradict the rest of the film

posted 8 years ago by adamtardis
5 replies | jump to latest

I liked the film's message, even though it was pretty heavy-handed at times; especially when The Schofield Kid hangs up his guns and refuses to kill again. But the final shootout totally goes against what the film was building up to. We have scenes with Gene Hackman and the pulp writer that serve to subvert the mythos of the gunslinger, and other scenes of Eastwood lamenting over his past deeds. But then we get this Hollywood ending that seems to serve no other purpose other than to end with a bang.

Then, even more egregious, we get the text at the end which furthers the Hollywood ending, a "he lived happily ever after" one.
I still gave the film an 8/10 because there was a lot to like before the final 20 minutes, but damn, did it ruin what should have been a perfect film.

[–] therealman 8 years ago

Eastwood was the best gun man in the film. But he lamented his past deeds. Little Billy and English Bob both self-aggrandized their own past and abilities. Even at the end Muny says he had always been lucky when it came to killing. Not that he was good at it. Just lucky.

[–] tukkek 8 years ago

Yeah and while the englishman and the sheriff were fast to boast about their past to the writer Munny did no such thing - even with the writer practically drooling at his feet after seeing him kill 5 man by himself. Instead he was eager to shoo the writer away, taking no glory in what he did nor accepting praise and adulation. That enough is justification for the final shootout (plus ending the film with a badass scene for the main character).

[–] SandyR (7362) 2 months ago

Check out A Clockwork Orange and Drugstore Cowboy. Sometimes the point of a character arc is that he can't change.

[–] Foster1486 (228) 18 days ago

The Eastwood dude did change
BUT needed the $$$ SOO got his old partner to kind of take him back
NOW
IF the partner, hadn't been tortured to death and just shot Munny would not have gone on to do what he did
BUT now he was pissed
And went to the bar to kill The sheriff
And did every thing the sheriff said HAD to be done in a shootout
Calmly killed everyone
JUST like the old days
TOOK his money and continued his life with his kids

[–] strntz (10846) 3 days ago

I liked the film's message..

I'm not sure there was a message, at least an intentional one.

This is just a fascinating story about an evil human being who found redemption of sorts with a pious woman whom he loved. When she was taken away from him leaving him with two kids to look after - quite a change in his life's direction from his murdering drunk whoring days - would he still be the man she changed him into? Despite her being gone and no longer directly influencing him, he still maintained the life that she inspired him to live. William Munny is indeed a changed man.

It's also fascinating because we see a man with a killer's reputation who dotes over his kids, grieves for his wife, and won't even cuss, and despite that we are told through other's stories that he is/was a killer of women and children, we *root* for him. Are those stories about William Munny even real? We're not sure, but even if we believe them, we still root for him. Not only fascinating but brilliant as well.

The shootout ending is shocking on several levels, but it's also shocking because the guy we've been rooting for now reverts back to his old ways after his best friend is killed and we get to see first hand that the stories in fact were not exaggerations after all - but we're still rooting for him!

That "happily ever after" ending? Well, since we're still rooting for the guy (movie rooting isn't the same as real life rooting), we're glad he seems to have once again given up his murdering ways and maybe he lives the rest of his life quietly the way his departed wife would have wanted.

I never read any message in this film, but it this remains one of my favorite movies of all time.