On Unforgiven

Unforgiven is a brilliant film, surely the best work of director Clint Eastwood. “Unforgiven” makes us question not only the natures of good and evil, but whether those terms are even relevant in explaining human actions. There is not one character in this film who is truly good, so where should our sympathies lie. Who’s the “good guy”. All of the major characters are shown in a more of less sympathetic light. Little Bill, who is in some ways the most evil character in the film, can also be seen as the one character who is most consistently on the right side of right and wrong. I don’t see any real villains here … nor any heroes, just an existential landscape in which all of the characters seem propelled by forces larger than themselves.