I’m watching Unforgiven, here. I didn’t know much, getting into this. I knew people made a bunch of noise about it when it came out — Eastwood was reviving the Western. It’s a masterpiece. I know that people still hold it in pretty high regard. And I remember my father’s reaction to it.

I recall that he said it was probably well-made, but that he kept harping about this stupid plot where people kept talking about how horribly the prostitute was cut up, and it really wasn’t that bad, all things considered. He groused about the stupid politics of Hollywood — they couldn’t make the actress look really ugly, so they just put a couple of lines across her face.

I’m twenty minutes into the thing and, uh. Right now, that’s looking like it’s the whole point of the movie. Every motive, and its basis, is undermined by the complex truth of the situation, in some cases the lack thereof, thereby raising questions about the true natures of the parties involved, and how they justify their behavior to themselves. Right now, it’s looking like this is going to end in a bunch of unfortunate miscommunication and people standing up for nothing in particular except their own stubbornness.

Seems like kind of the point so far is that it’s not about the excuses you make for your actions; it’s about what you actually do with yourself.

Well, we’ll see.

EDIT:

Well, partially right. The psychology is in there, but the focus is more on the disparity between the muddle of reality and simplicity of romance, using the framework and cultural history of the Western to make the point clearer.

I guess it’s to the script’s credit that it wasn’t quite as transparent as I expected. I’m glad it didn’t go down the miscommunication route; that always makes me cringe. For one, it’s facile and mundane. For another, it brings up my nightmares.

I guess it makes sense that it’s dedicated to Leone — and I did detect some of his style in there — as it sort of completes his deconstruction of the form. Sort of an epilogue to everything Eastwood’s films with him represented.