I would not call myself a big fan of Westerns, but there is a certain air to them that I find very interesting. Westerns force us to think about certain aspects of “Americanism” as no other genre can. The idealism of expansion and rugged individualism making it out in the wilderness seems quite romantic, but it also conflicts with the ugly realities of the unjust treatment of non-white people, rampant alcoholism, violence, prostitution, and so on. I really liked that Unforgiven addressed some of these issues and put a more realistic spin on the Western.

The effect of violence on those that commit it is probably the most thoroughly explored issue in the film. I found William Munny to be a very interesting character because he is clearly scarred by his violent past and tries to move past it. Similarly, Ned is so troubled by the thought of violence that he can’t bring himself to shoot Davy Boy and the Schofield Kid is so traumatized by his first killing that he swears off of it forever. This makes all of these men much more relatable and realistic than a classic Western hero who shows up, says some dramatic lines, shoots some people, and then rides into the sunset.

But it’s not just the men who are more nuanced; I also appreciated the portrayal of the female characters in the film. The prostitutes were not depicted as simple whores or eye candy; they took care of each other, they stood up for themselves, and they clearly had minds of their own. On the other hand, they were also not perfect women who just fell on hard times; their obsession with revenge starts a vicious cycle that hurts many people who didn’t deserve it. In this way they are, like the men, depicted in a more nuanced way that breaks down their archetypal characters.

Finally, the last group I want to talk about is non-white people. The film didn’t address racial issues too explicitly, but I felt there were still some aspects worth mentioning. As far as non-white characters go, there is Ned and there is his wife Sally. Ned isn’t faced with any explicit racism that I can remember, but I definitey got some vibes from the Schofield Kid’s first interaction with him. And of course, the scene where Ned is whipped by Little Bill was very reminiscent of slavery and highlighted the power inbalance between the two. Ned’s wife Sally doesn’t get as much screentime and the movie doesn’t really address Native American issues that came about as a result of Western expansion. Similar to this is the case of the Chinese. Several characters say that English Bob is known for shooting Chinamen and I think I saw one Asian guy in the background somewhere, but mostly there isn’t much representation for us in this film. It’s a shame because many Chinese people came to the US and ended up being treated horribly while working in the mines and on the railroads (so much for “Gold Mountain”). I know that the film wasn’t really trying to make a big statement on race inequality, but since it was taking a more realistic look at the Western I think it was an opportunity missed to not expand on this more.