Sep 17, 2007 11:01 PM
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For those of you, who have religiously followed through the oh-so-stylish Genre of Westerns, this movie comes as a redemption of all that westerns stood for. Masculinity, Gun toting cowboys, skillful riders, remorseless killers etc. etc. The movie spawns the ethical and moral ambiguity of killing. As others have already written about this movie on MS, there are no complete rights or wrongs. There's no straight jacketing of heroes or villains but an ambiguity and trade off measured and balanced very delicately.
The movie starts in a Wyoming Whorehouse when a cowboy is furious with a prostitute and cuts her face. The boy along with his accomplice try to escape but are soon cornered. The tough talking Sheriff of town, Little Bill Dagget(Gene Hackman) punishes them in his own style by ordering them to give 7 ponies to the prostitutes and their pimp. This doesn't go down well with prostitutes who feel cheated and come up with a reward(read Bounty) of$500 for each cowboy, $1000 in all - a large sum for 1880s.
As the news of bounty set by prostitutes on the 2 cowboys, spreads, more people will try their hand at it and the Sheriff won't allow that. He's set some hard rules for his town of Big Whiskey(What a name I wondered:). All entrances to town promulgate an ordinance of No Firearms allowed and Sheriff sees to it personally that any stranger in the town doesn't carry firearms or is disarmed on entry. An armed gunman, obviously bounty seeker, by the funny name of English Bob(Richard Harris) enters the town with his companion, a fantastic biographer he has hired.
English Bob claims not to possess arms when Sheriff confronts him. This leads to a bloody ruthless self of Sheriff who beats the hell out of both of'em. He will go to any length to maintain law and order in his county of Big Whiskey.
The lead character is of William Munny(Clint Eastwood), a former killer without a conscience, reformed long before, thanks to his wife who made him mend his gun toting ways and settle down as a decent Pig farmer. Munny has come far from his old days and is now widowed, rearing up his 2 children. He is struggling to keep his livestock, as they die of swine fever, and needs cash, when a character Schofield Kid(Jaimz Woolvett) lures him for a partnership involving the$1000 bounty. Munny eventually gives in and pairs up with his long time friend Ned Logan(Morgan Freeman) to get the 2 cowboys.
The traditional image of Clint Eastwood riding stylishly over vast arid zones is not seen here. He finds it hard to take an aim with Gun, is clumsy in even climbing in the saddle. The 3 of them start for the town of Big Whiskey where after a host of events, the cowboys are killed. Kid, who proclaimed had already killed 5, is terrible after shooting, admitting that this was his first killing. Logan leaves them in between, since he cannot stomach killings anymore. Dilemma clearly shows on Munny's face. The end is powerful with a showdown between Munny and Little Bill.
The film roughshods over the "High Plains Drifter" stranger or the Man with No Name, who was always adept with Gun and horses and never felt any remorse. This film sets the curtain down on those classic westerns with a befitting clause. Killing is never easy, not even for cowboys of westerns. All characters in the movie are every bit human and face moral and ethical dilemmas.
The movie won praises from all quarters - critics, fans, academy and me:)
What are you waiting for?
PS: some of the best dialogues from the film, although dialogues are not core of this film.
Munny - I'm Will Munny and I've killed women and children. I've killed everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned.
[Courtesy Wikiquote]
Bill Daggett: I don't deserve this… to die like this. I was building a house. Will Munny:'Deserve's got nothin' to do with it.' [aims gun] Little Bill Daggett: I'll see you in hell, William Munny. Will Munny: Yeah. [fires]
Kid mocking Munny-
You don't look like no rootin'-tootin', son-of-a-bitchin', cold-blooded assassin.The same one who shot Charlie Pepper up in Lake County.You're the one who killed William Harvey and robbed that train over in Missouri.
