for 

"Unforgiven"

 ANALYSIS INFORMATION: 

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General Storytelling:	Complete
Act Order Storytelling:	Complete
Character List:	Complete
Build Characters:	Partial

 

 

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Author:		David Webb Peoples
Analysis sources:		Peoples, David Webb. The William Munny Killings. Screenplay, Production Draft dated April 23, 1984, Malpaso Input: 4-4-85. 133 pages. Film. Warner Bros., 1992. (Video. Warner Home Video, 1992.) Videohound's Golden Retriever 1995. Visible Ink Press. Detroit, MI. Cinemania CD-ROM. Microsoft. 1995.
Genre:		Western
Setting:		Big Whiskey, Wyoming
Period:		1880
Analysis by:		Kevin Hindley

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Comments:

PRODUCER/STAR/DIRECTOR:

"The movie summarized everything I feel about the Western," [director Clint] Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times.

(Video blurb, Warner Bros.)

"It's easy to see why Eastwood was drawn by Peoples's [sic] screenplay. Munny is descended in a direct line from Eastwood's two most famous characters: the Man with No Name, from his 60s Westerns with Sergio Leone, and Dirty Harry, the anti-hero of Don Siegel's urban Westerns. Leone's presence is most strongly felt in the revisionist content of UNFORGIVEN, while Siegel's influence is in the film's lean, moody, no-nonsense style. Both of Eastwood's directorial mentors are acknowledged in the film's on-screen dedication, "to Sergio and Don."

(Cinebooks Motion Picture Guide, in Cinemania)

CHARACTER NAMING:

The writer's playfulness in coining certain characters' names suggests the importance of cash as a means of survival in the Wild West: Will Munny (who has the will for money), English Bob (a shilling in English currency), Little Bill (say, one dollar?), and Munny's children are named Will and Penny (another coin). The children's names may also be a reference to the 1968 Charlton Heston starrer, "Will Penny" (written & directed by Tom Gries), which is also a realistically-told character-driven story of a cowboy loner who's drawn back into violence against his will.

Brief Synopsis:

Will Munny lives a quiet life with his stepchildren [sic] on his failing pig farm, but his desperado past catches up with him when the Schofield Kid invites him to a bounty hunt. Munny reluctantly agrees, mistakenly believing that once the killing is through he can take up his peaceful ways again. Enter sadistic sheriff Little Bill Daggett, who doesn't want any gunmen messing up his town.

(Videohound, p. 958)

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

WILLIAM MUNNY, a widower with two children, doesn't partake of wine or women and has nothing to sing about. His hogs are dying, he's ready to resume his old career -- killing men -- for money offered by--

KID SCHOFIELD, a wannabe gunslinger who's seduced by the myth of the Wild West, until he tastes killing firsthand. He doesn't see the need to cut in--

NED LOGAN, Munny's old friend and partner, who can hit a bird in the eye flying, but can no longer kill a man. Not even--

LITTLE BILL DAGGETT, a sadistic sheriff who's pro gun control and amateur carpenter. He gets his kicks at the expense of men like--

ENGLISH BOB, a gentleman mercenary who's come into town to rewrite history and has brought his own hack--

WW BEAUCHAMP, a tenderfoot writer who's incompetent and incontinent. He hangs around long enough to get the real skinny on the Wild West with the shooting of--

SKINNY, baron of billiards and mistreater of whores like--

DELILAH, a naive young thing who gets mutilated for mocking the manhood of--

QUICK MIKE, a cowpoke who rides short in the saddle. He and his partner--

DAVEY, a well-meaning youngster, have to pony up to Skinny for damaging his goods. His offer of one pony for sister Delilah is rejected by--

STRAWBERRY ALICE, a strong-willed whore who organizes the reward money for Mike and Davey's death as a means of revenge.

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THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS:

Name: William Munny

Gender: Male

Description:

"The hog in the mud, snorting and squealing, ugly as hell and BILL MUNNY in the mud with him, pushing and shoving [...] Munny is thirty-five or forty years old, his hair is thinning and his mustache droops glumly over his stubbled jaw. If it were not for his eyes he would look like any pig farmer with his canvas overalls tucked in his boots pushing on a hog."

(Peoples, p. 10)

Role: Rootin', tootin', sonofabitchin', cold-blooded assassin

Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Control; Faith;

Evaluation: Trust; Ending;

Purpose: Ability; Aware; Chaos;

Name: Ned Logan

Gender: Male

Description:

"NED LOGAN, who is working not far away [...] Ned is about forty, balding, a farmer, but not as seedy looking as his old friend, Bill Munny."

(Peoples, p. 26)

Role: Munny's longtime friend

Characteristics:

Motivation: Reconsider; Conscience; Disbelief;

Methodology: Reevaluation;

Evaluation: Test; Accurate;

Name: Davey Bunting

Gender: Male

Description:

"[...] Davey, who is just a kid, after all, nineteen with a big shock of unruly red hair and innocent blue eyes, is horrified."

(Peoples, p. 3)

Role: Quick Mike's accomplice

Characteristics:

Name: Delilah Fitzgerald

Gender: Female

Description:

"DELILAH is backed up against the wall, her face bleeding and she is throwing the contents of her chamber pot on MIKE [...]"

(Peoples, p. 2)

Role: Cut-whore

Characteristics:

Methodology: Acceptance;

Evaluation: Result;

Name: English Bob

Gender: Male

Description:

"[...] the one on the aisle, pudgy, pinkcheeked, with neat muttonchop whiskers, wearing a frock coat and waistcoat and a silk slouch hat in spite of the heat, is ENGLISH BOB. English Bob has beady blue eyes, is about thirty-five and pulls constantly on a good cigar."

(Peoples, p. 32)

Role: Gentleman gunslinger

Characteristics:

Purpose: Knowledge;

Name: Kid Schofield

Gender: Male

Description:

"THE KID is only six feet away, the sun behind him, sitting on a very big and ancient Morgan horse. He's wearing a wide-brimmed Texas hat, a vest, a holstered pistol, and he is a wiry kid, maybe twenty years old, with scraggly blonde hair, four of his upper front teeth missing, and a funny, squinty way of looking out of his watery blue eyes. Most of all, he doesn't look very prosperous."

(Peoples, p. 10)

Role: Gunslinger wannabe

Characteristics:

Motivation: Temptation; Help;

Evaluation: Non-Accurate;

Purpose: Desire; Self Aware;

Name: Little Bill Daggett

Gender: Male

Description:

"The big one is LITTLE BILL DAGGETT and he is very big, wrapped in a huge bearskin robe. [...] Little Bill is huge and ominous. Some say he acquired the bearskin by staring the bear to death and others say he drowned the animal in spit. Anyhow, he's big with a drooping mustache and he is sucking on his church warden's clay pipe and you know he isn't scared of anything."

(Peoples, p. 4-5)

Role: Sadistic Sheriff

Characteristics:

Motivation: Logic; Hinder;

Methodology: Protection; Reaction; Evaluation;

Evaluation: Theory; Unending;

Purpose: Thought; Actuality; Order; Inequity; Inertia;

Name: Quick Mike

Gender: Male

Description:

"MIKE who is advancing on her with an open barlow knife [...] Certainly you can see that Mike, who is wearing leggings and no shirt, is a big tough man, unshaven, eyes inflamed with whiskey..."

(Peoples, p. 2)

Role: Teensy little pecker

Characteristics:

Motivation: Uncontrolled; Avoidance;

Name: Skinny Dubois

Gender: Male

Description:

"VIEW ON SKINNY DUBOIS. STANDING THERE IN THE DOORWAY, his nasty face eaten with smallpox scars and he is looking at Delilah who is a fountain of blood, looking at her coldly, and looking down at the melee on the floor and, pointing the big Navy Colt in his hand, he says,

SKINNY

Get offa her, asshole.

And he says it so cold and with such authority that everything goes quiet."

(Peoples, p. 3)

Role: Town pimp

Characteristics:

Motivation: Oppose;

Evaluation: Hunch;

Name: Strawberry Alice

Gender: Female

Description:

"Alice can't wait for Skinny and she jumps on Mike's back and brings the big man down and she fights him though she's not a big woman. Alice is twenty-five but she's been around some, whored some tough cow-towns, and she has too much bone and character in her face to be outright pretty but she attracts men like flies. Sure she has some smallpox scars on her face, but they're common and there are only a few of them, not like on Skinny whose mean little face is eaten right up with them."

(Peoples, p. 3)

Role: Vengeful whore

Characteristics:

Motivation: Feeling; Pursuit; Support;

Methodology: Proaction; Nonacceptance;

Purpose: Equity; Change;

Name: WW Beauchamp

Gender: Male

Description:

"The one by the window, the lean one in the frock coat and slouch hat, is WW BEAUCHAMP [...]"

(Peoples, p. 32)

Role: Sleazy writer

Characteristics:

Methodology: Inaction;

Purpose: Perception;

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AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

Nature as it relates to Actual Dilemma:

A widower with two children, William Munny is none too prosperous as a farmer, and now his pigs are dying on him. As he explains to Ned:

MUNNY

I just need the money... for a new start... for them

youngsters.

 

(Peoples, p. 30)

He succeeds in getting the reward money, but to do so he has to change back to what he used to be, a hired killer.

Essence as it relates to Negative Feel:

The story has a negative feel as Davey and Quick Mike avoid the pursuit of hired killers, and Little Bill uses intimidation and violence to ward off any one even considering pursuing the reward money.

Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:

Munny's reluctant to take up killing again, for a number of reasons: in respect for his wife's wishes; because his shooting skills have faded over time; the images of his victims haunt him. He tries to have Ned and the Kid do the dirty work, holding back until Ned's death drives him over the brink.

Reach as it relates to Both:

Women and men will empathize with Munny, a single parent who runs out of options as a farmer and does what it takes to support his children, and as a strong man of action who stands up for what he believes in.

Resolve as it relates to Change:

For eleven years William Munny has been a family man, relinquishing his hard-drinking, man-killing ways. Financially desperate, he's drawn back to killing for money and when his partner Ned's killed, he hits the trigger and the bottle again.

Approach as it relates to Be-er:

Munny has lost the hair-trigger response of his youth, preferring to work problems through peaceably: though taunted by Kid Schofield over his reputation, he lets it slide and tries again to solve the hog problem; provoked by Little Bill in the bar, Munny bides his time:

LITTLE BILL

Well, Mister Hendershot, if I was to call you a

no good sonofabitch an' a liar, an' if I was to say

you shit in your pants on account of a cowardly

soul... well, I guess then, you would show me

your pistol right quick an' shoot me dead,

ain't that so?

 

MUNNY

I guess I might... but like I said, I ain't armed.

(Peoples, p. 76)

After a kicking by Little Bill, Munny doesn't even seek revenge; this doesn't happen until Ned is killed.

Direction as it relates to Start:

Although Munny tells the Kid that he's "not like that no more," he must unfortunately disregard the wishes of his late wife and start using his meanness and killing skills if he's to succeed and survive in this violent, lawless environment.

Mental Sex as it relates to Male:

Munny uses cause and effect, linear reasoning. Having trouble with animals, he figures that:

MUNNY

Now this here horse is gettin' even on me... hold

on gal... for the sins of my youth... before I met...

your dear-departed mother... I was weak an'

givin' to mistreatin' horses an' such. An' this

here horse... an' that ole pig, too, I guess... is my

comeuppance for my cruelty...

(Peoples, p. 21)

When he can't hit a coffee can with the pistol, he switches to a shotgun; told that Little Bill caused Ned's death, Munny eliminates him.

Outcome as it relates to Success:

Munny and the Kid succeed in killing Quick Mike and Davey, satisfying the whores' appetite for revenge and "justice." They receive the reward money from Little Sue, which they split three ways to include Ned's widow.

Judgment as it relates to Bad:

While Munny succeeds in getting the money he needs to help raise his two children, it's at great personal cost: the dark side of his nature that he's suppressed for years has resurfaced. He's become a mean killer again, drinks hard liquor, and will surely be haunted by the faces of his new victims.

Work as it relates to Action:

Quick Mike's slashing of Delilah, and Little Bill's mild punishment for this heinous action prompts Alice to offer a reward; Kid Schofield's arrival and the dying of the hogs pushes Munny into pursuit of the reward; Munny's killing Davey sets Little Bill on their trail; Little Bill's torturing to death of Ned makes Munny come after him; etc.

Limit as it relates to Optionlock:

After Munny and the Kid eliminate Davey and Quick Mike, Munny takes out the men in Greely's bar until he's sure there are none left as mean as he is, none left to harm the whores or to disrespect Ned's body:

"Munny is still down on one knee pointing his pistol and looking through the thick smoke for someone to shoot but it seems there are no threats left."

 

(Peoples, p. 124)

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THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

"William Munny was once, we learn, a gunfighter, and not a very nice one. He killed not simply bad guys, but also women and children, and he doesn't feel very good about that. Now he is trying to support his motherless family by working as a hog farmer, and when the word comes of a $1,000 bounty on the heads of two cowboys who have carved up a prostitute, he accepts the challenge. He needs the money, and perhaps he is attracted to his old ways.

The prostitute was attacked in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a town ruled by Little Bill Daggett, a sheriff who mirrors Munny's own ambiguity about violence and domesticity. Daggett does not permit firearms in his town, and tries to settle disputes peaceably. In adjudicating the brawl at the brothel, for example, he orders the two cowboys to give the saloon owner a couple of horses, in lieu of damages. This is justice of a sort, although not, of course, for the scarred young prostitute, who is treated like so much property. An older hooker is enraged, and raises the money for the bounty on the cowboys. [...]

Munny is told about the bounty in the first place by a kid (all Westerns seem to have a kid) named, inevitably, the Schofield Kid. He's too nearsighted to shoot straight, and knows he needs help. Munny in turn recruits an old partner, Ned Logan, and they ride into Big Whiskey, only to discover that another famous gunfighter, English Bob, has also arrived on the scene.

English Bob is trailed by a writer for pulp Western magazines, who interviews the sheriff on his theories about killing, and does research for his report on the impending showdown. [...]

UNFORGIVEN is not simply about its plot--about whether William Munny collects the bounty, and about who gets killed in the process--but also about what it means to kill somebody, and how a society is affected when people get killed. [...]"

 

(Roger Ebert, in Cinemania)

Backstory:

An outbreak of smallpox swept the country, killing Munny's wife Claudia -- who tamed his whiskey-drinking, gunslinging ways -- and leaving him to raise two children on a hardscrabble farm where the pigs are now sick:

MUNNY

Now this here horse is gettin' even on me... hold

on gal... for the sins of my youth... before I met...

your dear-departed mother... I was weak an' givin'

to mistreatin' horses an' such. An' this here horse...

an' that ole pig, too, I guess... is my comeuppance

for my cruelty...

(Peoples, p. 21)

The temptation to return to those old ways comes to visit Munny in the form of Kid Schofield, offering easy money as a reward for killing men who cruelly mistreated a whore.

Domain as it relates to Physics:

William Munny endeavors to provide for his two children in the face of poverty and sickness; the whores initiate a reward as a means to exact revenge on the slashers; Kid Schofield sets out on an enterprise to prove himself a tough guy; WW Beauchamp ventures out to experience the Wild West firsthand; etc.

Concern as it relates to Obtaining:

Strawberry Alice and the whores want Quick Mike and Davey's lives taken as retribution for their crime; Munny, Ned, Schofield, and English Bob go after the reward money; Little Bill wants to prevent anyone earning the reward, and to control "his" town; Skinny wants payment for his damaged goods; WW Beauchamp, English Bob, and Little Bill seek fame.

Range as it relates to Self Interest:

Quick Mike slashes Delilah because his pride's hurt; Strawberry Alice and the whores demand justice for themselves; Skinny only cares about being a baron of billiards and getting repaid for his damaged goods; WW Beauchamp wants fame as an author; Kid Schofield, English Bob and Little Bill seek self-aggrandizement; Munny wants to earn easy money for himself by killing others.

Counterpoint as it relates to Morality:

Strawberry Alice insists on revenge for Delilah and respect for all the whores; Davey brings his best pony to give to Delilah; Munny wants what's best for his children; both Ned and Munny insist on working together as partners or not at all; after killing, Kid Schofield comes to value another's life more than his own selfish interests; visited by ghosts from the past, Munny comes to regret taking their lives.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Self Interest vs. Morality:

Self interest and morality are played out mainly through the three characters who venture out together to kill men for money: the inexperienced Kid wants to be a killer but regrets his actions when he becomes one; former killer Ned acts as the moral conscience of the story, knowing how awful it is to take another's life and refusing to do it again; though Munny feels guilty about killing, he does it once for the money and again for personal revenge when Ned dies for Munny's sins.

Problem as it relates to Pursuit:

To pursue the reward money, Munny and his partners and English Bob must track it to its source, the whores working in Big Whiskey. There they meet their biggest obstacle in Little Bill, who prohibits guns and tortures gunslingers while protecting the men with a price on their head.

Solution as it relates to Avoidance:

Skinny the pimp suggests to Little Bill how trouble with those pursuing the reward money might be avoided:

SKINNY

(hopeful)

You could run off them two cowboys.

 

LITTLE BILL

(sharply)

I could run off them whores.

 

SKINNY

(after a pause)

Well, I guess they'll just up an' run anyhow,

them two.

 

LITTLE BILL

(glumly)

Nope. They'll stay out on the Spade country

where they got friends.

(Peoples, p. 25)

Focus as it relates to Uncontrolled:

When Delilah laughs at his "teensy little pecker," Quick Mike lashes out and slashes her face; the whores respond to Davey's offer of a pony for Delilah with a frenzy of mudslinging; the shortsighted Schofield Kid reacts to danger by shooting aimlessly in all directions; the townsfolk Little Bill tries to organize into a posse are focused on getting their expenses paid rather than tracking criminals; etc.

Direction as it relates to Control:

Little Bill tightly regulates who can carry a gun in Big Whiskey, and treats transgressors with methodical torture; Skinny keeps a tight rein on his whores, treating them no better than horses; Munny and Kid Schofield organize a plan of attack for ambushing Quick Mike at the outhouse; Munny terrorizes the surviving townsfolk into doing what he says; etc.

Stipulation as it relates to Understanding:

When Alice understands that Quick Mike and Davey will go unpunished by Little Bill for slashing a whore, she starts the story rolling with an offer for a reward; the violence-shy Munny tries to make the Kid understand he "ain't like that any more"; when Ned's wife sees Munny's shotgun on his horse, she understands there's grief ahead; aiming at Davey, Ned appreciates just how difficult it is to kill a man -- as does WW while pointing a pistol at Little Bill; after a near-death beating, Munny realizes what death feels like and empathizes with the thirsty Davey; Kid Schofield kills for the first and last time, comprehending the hard way what it feels like to take a man's life.

Catalyst as it relates to Morality:

Little Bill demands that Quick Mike and Davey "pony up" in payment for their crime, in order to spare more bloodshed; Alice and the other whores pool their savings to fund a reward and get street justice for Delilah's attackers; Munny sets out after the reward money to give his children a better life; hearing of the disrespect afforded the dead Ned, Munny goes after his assailants; etc.

Inhibitor as it relates to Commitment:

Munny's devotion to the memory of his wife almost prevents him from pursuing the reward; Ned's insistence that "we ain't bad men no more" prevents him from shooting Davey, almost letting him escape; Little Bill's zeal in making an example of English Bob makes the whores despair that:

ALICE

Nobody's gonna come. [...] After what Little Bill

done to the Englishman.

(Peoples, p. 70)

Goal as it relates to Obtaining:

Everyone in Big Whiskey's concerned with obtaining the reward money: The whores offer it for killing Quick Mike and Davey, who'd rather it wasn't paid; Skinny and Little Bill want to avoid its payment and keep business as usual; Munny, Ned, and Kid Schofield set out to split it three ways; English Bob wants it for himself, while WW Beauchamp wants to document how it's earned.

Consequence as it relates to Becoming:

If Quick Mike and Davey and the others weren't killed, the whores of Big Whiskey would become victims with no self-determination and no expectation of justice, subject to the whims of cruel men like Little Bill and Skinny.

Cost as it relates to The Future:

Seeking a future as a wealthier man, English Bob suffers humiliation and a beating; in death, Ned, Little Bill, Skinny, Quick Mike and Davey have no future; Kid Schofield must spend the rest of his life knowing he killed a man; Munny must face the fact that he was and always will be a killer of men; their funds depleted, the whores must start saving again for the next rainy day in Big Whiskey.

Dividend as it relates to The Subconscious:

By slashing Delilah's face, Quick Mike feels appeased for the insult to his very manhood; the whores' deeply-felt need for respect and justice is satisfied by the vengeful killings; Skinny the would-be "billiards baron" is repaid in ponies for the destruction of one of his most valuable "assets"; Ned and Kid Schofield take advantage of "free ones" to feed their lust; the Kid satisfies his drive to become a tough-guy killer; Munny gets the money he needs to give his children a better life.

Requirements as it relates to Understanding:

WW Beauchamp by observing, and Munny, Ned, and the Kid by doing, understand exactly what it means to take another man's life before they can collect the reward money. As Munny eloquently puts it:

MUNNY

It's a hell of a thing, ain't it, killin' a man. You take

everythin' he's got... an' everythin' he's ever gonna

have...

(Peoples, p. 114)

Prerequisites as it relates to Conceptualizing:

The whores envision that pooling their savings is the best plan to attract a professional killer and get revenge; with Munny sick, the Kid plans how he and Ned will do the job:

THE KID

I can't spot 'em myself but you could. That red-haired

one, you could spot a half-mile off, I bet.

 

NED

An' if I spot 'em?

 

THE KID

I'll ride up close an' shoot 'em!

(Peoples, p. 86)

Instead, Ned and the Kid go scouting at the Bar T ranch to figure out a way to kill the two cowboys, and to implement an ambush on Davey; Munny visualizes where Quick Mike will be:

MUNNY

I'll bet anything he won't go to town nor he won't

ride out on the range. Right off he'll hole up at the

ranch.

(Peoples, p. 100)

Preconditions as it relates to The Past:

Munny's previous killing victims -- and also his wife and the angel of death -- insist on visiting him in the form of visions while on the way to the killing zone; Ned needs to drink whiskey to forget what killing's like, just as he did in the old days; the Kid invents a past as a five-time killer to convince the others and himself he's up to the killing.

Forewarnings as it relates to Memory:

After recalling the true story of Two-gun Corcoran's killing, Little Bill offers his gun to WW:

LITTLE BILL

All you gotta do is shoot me an' you an' English

Bob can ride out free as birds.

 

But WW can't pull the trigger, and English Bob is driven out of town -- foreshadowing the difficulty Munny will have with his partner in killing, Ned, with the likelihood of a similar outcome.

---

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Ex-killers and partners Ned and Munny team up again to kill for money, justifying their actions with the exaggerated claim that:

THE KID

They cut up a lady. They cut up her face an' cut her

eyes out, cut her ears off an' her tits too.

(Peoples, p. 13)

The reluctant Ned tries to convince Munny that killing again won't be easy, because they're not bad men anymore. Munny keeps his promise to his late wife to avoid drinking and whoring, but the reward money's enough to make him kill again. Ned finds he can't kill again, and leaves it to Munny. Ned's subsequent death by torture is reason enough for Munny to sink back into his mean killing ways, and hit the bottle as well.

Backstory:

Munny and Ned go back a long way, to the "good old days":

MUNNY

Remember that drover, the one I shot in the mouth

so's the teeth come out the back of his head? I dream

about him now an' again. I didn't have no reason

to shoot him... not one I could remember when I

sobered up.

NED

You was a... crazy sonofabitch.

 

MUNNY

Nobody liked me... none of the boys. They was

scared of me... figured I might shoot 'em out of

pure meanness.

 

NED

You ain't like that no more.

[...]

 

MUNNY

Hell, no. I'm just a fella now. Ain't no different

from anyone else no more.

 

After a pause, Ned rolls over to go to sleep and say something kind by way of saying goodnight.

 

NED

Hell, Bill. I always liked you... even back then.

Ned settles in his covers and so does Munny and the crickets chirp for a long moment but Munny can't sleep with the lie.

MUNNY

No you didn't. You wasn't no different, Ned.

(Peoples, p. 31-2)

Domain as it relates to Psychology:

William Munny and Ned Logan share conflicting viewpoints over whether they're still able to kill a man:

NED

(earnestly)

We ain't bad men no more, Bill. Hell, we're farmers.

 

MUNNY

(thoughtfully)

Should be easy killin' em... supposin' they don't run off

to Texas first.

(Peoples, p. 27)

Concern as it relates to Becoming:

To collect their share of the reward money, Munny and Ned must become killers again and cold-bloodedly shoot Quick Mike and Davey. At the moment of truth, Ned's unable to pull the trigger and Munny steps in and finishes the job. Munny's transformation into a mean killer is completed when he learns of Ned's killing and goes after those responsible.

Range as it relates to Commitment:

Against his better judgment, Ned allows his dedication to his old partner Munny to pull him back into killing for money; Munny refuses to become the Kid's partner unless Ned's included too; Munny's devotion to his friend brings out the ruthlessness in him necessary to avenge Ned's death.

Counterpoint as it relates to Responsibility:

While Ned can "hit a bird in the eye flyin'," he's no longer suited to killing men, letting the meaner killer Munny take over; Ned can't take any more killing, and leaves Munny to get Quick Mike with the more eager Kid's help; Munny realizes he's the only man mean enough to avenge Ned's death, and takes the Kid's superior gun to do it with.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Commitment vs. Responsibility:

Ned's lack of suitability for killing overwhelms the dedication that he feels toward Munny, and he leaves Munny to do the killing. Munny carries through to the bitter end for the reward money, and it is his commitment to Ned that makes him go after his partner's tormentors.

Problem as it relates to Conscience:

Ned's reluctant to join Munny in killing again because he believes they "ain't bad men no more." Munny's equally convinced that it "Should be easy killin' em..." until Ned prods his conscience:

NED

But you wouldn't go if Claudia was alive.

It hits Munny like salt on a wound and he just takes it. They both know Ned is right and they think about it silently.

(Peoples, p. 28)

Solution as it relates to Temptation:

Embracing the idea of reliving his exciting youth with Munny, and tempted by easy money, Ned decides to go for it:

NED

This Kid, what's he like?

Munny turns and looks at Ned and their eyes meet and Munny realizes Ned is coming.

NED

Three ways?

(Peoples, p. 28)

Focus as it relates to Uncontrolled:

Ned's losing focus on the goal by going to the back room for a whore causes problems for Munny by leaving him vulnerable to Little Bill's sadism; Ned's losing control while trying to shoot Davey causes Munny to take over the task; Ned's inability to keep his lies straight while being tortured leads him to give away Munny's true identity to Little Bill.

Direction as it relates to Control:

Left alone by Ned, Munny responds with restraint to Little Bill's taunting and torture; Munny takes over Davey's killing, concentrating on how many bullets are left in Ned's rifle; when he hears Ned gave him away but Little Bill wasn't scared, Munny directs his attention toward killing the men responsible for Ned's humiliation and subsequent death.

Stipulation as it relates to Conceptualizing:

At the start of Munny and Ned's relationship, Ned's wife sees something that sparks her imagination:

"Her sharp eyes don't miss the stock of the shotgun where it protrudes slightly from the bedroll. Her eyes seem to see into the future... and all they see is trouble."

 

(Peoples, p. 26)

Ned and Munny swap graphic visualizations as to how the reward money was prompted:

NED

What'd they do anyhow? Cheat at cards, steal

some strays, spit on a rich fella?

MUNNY

Cut up a woman. Cut her eyes out, cut her tits off,

cut her fingers off... done everythin' but cut up her

cunny, I guess.

(Peoples, p. 28)

Bonding man-to-man about sex, Ned tries to envision how Munny manages without a wife:

NED

Whaddaya do, just use your hand?

(Peoples, p. 48)

Ned offers Munny some of his whiskey, which he "brung for when we had to kill them fellows," but Munny won't admit he needs it; the whore delivering the reward money tells Munny about the future Ned envisioned for Little Bill:

LITTLE SUE

[...] how if he hurt Ned again you was gonna come

an' kill him like you killed a U.S. Marshall in '73.

(Peoples, p. 118)

Catalyst as it relates to Responsibility:

Standing up against the Kid, Munny insists Ned gets an equal share due to his suitability for the mission:

MUNNY

Now Ned's a hell of a shot with a rifle. Hell, he

can hit a bird in the eye flyin'.

(Peoples, p. 52)

When the Kid wants to do the killing without waiting for the injured Munny to recover, Ned insists that's not appropriate:

NED

(a sharp look at The Kid)

I don't kill nobody without him.

(indicating Munny)

(Peoples, p. 82)

When Ned can't kill Davey, Munny realizes he's the man for the job:

"Munny grabs the rifle and Ned moves aside and slumps against a rock and Munny looks down the barrel and aims."

 

(Peoples, p. 93)

Inhibitor as it relates to Self Interest:

Ned tries to talk Munny out of killing Quick Mike and Davey because there's no personal interest:

NED

Bill... if you was mad at 'em... if they done you

wrong... I could see you shootin' 'em...

(Peoples, p. 27)

Ned's decision to indulge himself with a whore leaves Munny alone to be tortured by Little Bill, and Ned saves his own skin by jumping out the window rather than back up his partner.

---

William Munny's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Rootin', tootin', sonofabitchin', cold-blooded assassin

Description:

"The hog in the mud, snorting and squealing, ugly as hell and BILL MUNNY in the mud with him, pushing and shoving [...] Munny is thirty-five or forty years old, his hair is thinning and his mustache droops glumly over his stubbled jaw. If it were not for his eyes he would look like any pig farmer with his canvas overalls tucked in his boots pushing on a hog."

(Peoples, p. 10)

Throughline Synopsis:

A struggling farmer, Munny is lured out of retirement by the promise of easy money for a quick double killing of two cruel men. Despite his buddy Ned's argument to the contrary, he believes he can shoot two men dead then return to his farm and children as if nothing had happened. As he gets closer to his intended victims, images of his former victims haunt him. A vicious beating by the sheriff doesn't deter him, and he succeeds in earning the reward money. But the humiliation Ned suffers at the sheriff's hands launches Munny into the frenzy of mean, vengeful killing that was lurking inside him waiting for release.

Backstory:

Words begin to crawl across the screen:

Of good family, albeit one of modest means, she

was a comely young woman and not without

prospects. Therefore it was at once heartbreaking

and astonishing to her mother that she would enter

into marriage with William Munny, a known thief

and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and

intemperate disposition. They were married in St.

Louis in 1870 and they traveled North to

Kansas where he engaged in farming and swine

husbandry. She bore him two children in the eight

years of their marriage and when she died, it was

not at his hands as her mother might have expected,

but of smallpox. That was in 1878.

(Peoples, p. 1-2)

Domain as it relates to Mind:

Even though he hasn't shot a gun at a man in eleven years and he "ain't a bad man any more," Munny still believes that killing two cowboys for money will be easy.

Concern as it relates to The Subconscious:

Despite having taken eleven years off, Munny has to struggle with the fact that at his central core, what he's really good at is the killing of other men.

Range as it relates to Closure:

Munny decided to stop drinking, whoring, and killing when he married, but now his wife's influence has ended; killing Quick Mike and Davey brings Munny's endeavor to an end and nets him the reward money.

Counterpoint as it relates to Denial:

Killing the two cowboys is not enough for Munny now he's a killer again, and he can't rest until he avenges Ned's death.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Closure vs. Denial:

Munny doesn't know when to stop killing once he's started. After finishing off the two cowboys for the reward, he goes on to kill the unarmed Skinny and four others singlehandedly, getting back into the vicious cycle of killing he's stayed away from for so long.

Problem as it relates to Pursuit:

Failing at farming, Munny is driven to pursue the reward money for his children's survival; angered at the disrespectful treatment of his friend Ned, Munny goes after those who mistreated him with a vengeance.

Solution as it relates to Avoidance:

While his wife was alive, Munny avoided getting into violent conflicts; he stays away from Ned's whiskey, knowing drinking fueled his meanness in the past; if he steered clear of Big Whiskey, he'd avoid seeing Ned's body and wouldn't start his killing ways again.

Focus as it relates to Reconsider:

Initially, Munny tells the Kid he's been cured of his wicked ways and rejects his offer of partnership -- then, troubled by the ornery sick pigs, he reconsiders and saddles up; Munny insists killing the two cowboys will be easy -- until haunting images of his victims and wife cause him to reconsider, and actually fear death.

Direction as it relates to Consider:

Driven to reconsider the Kid's usefulness after learning he can only see fifty yards, Munny considers that "Fifty yards ain't bad."; forced to reconsider his killing mission by Little Bill's savage beating, Munny considers his own mortality and fear of death.

Stipulation as it relates to Memory:

Munny's memories of killing intrude on his present thinking more and more as he approaches the men he's to kill: Considering the reward money, he reminisces over his wife's photo and gravestone and how she cured him of wickedness; as he leaves, he remembers mistreating animals and suspects his horse and pigs are getting even with him; traveling with Ned, he recalls shooting a man's teeth through the back of his head, for no reason -- and how everybody feared him and nobody liked him because of his meanness; arriving in Big Whiskey, he sees a vision of his victim Hendershot, complete with worms.

Unique Ability as it relates to Dream:

To reach the goal, Munny convinces himself, but not Ned, that killing the two cowboys should be easy -- which is highly unlikely, as he's sworn off the liquor he previously employed to make killing easier.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Delay:

Munny's return to the saddle after a delay of eleven years makes him and the horse he rode in on unaccustomed to each other; Munny's prolonged refusal to give up his gun to Little Bill earns him a near-fatal kicking; suspending his shooting for so long has turned him into a poor marksman, almost letting Davey escape; Munny's hanging around the bar for a drink almost gets him shot by the wounded Little Bill.

---

Ned Logan's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Munny's longtime friend

Description:

"NED LOGAN, who is working not far away [...] Ned is about forty, balding, a farmer, but not as seedy looking as his old friend, Bill Munny."

(Peoples, p. 26)

Throughline Synopsis:

A successful farmer, Ned comes out of retirement to relive his glory days with Munny. He distrusts the brash young tough guy Kid Schofield, who claims to relish killing. Ned believes he's not the killer he used to be, and proves it by failing to shoot Davey. Unable to dissuade Munny, Ned heads for home but is captured and tortured by the sheriff. Under pressure, he gives up Munny's identity, but also warns of the consequences from Munny should he, Ned, be killed. Which he is.

Backstory:

NED

(earnestly)

We ain't bad men no more, Bill. Hell, we're

farmers.

 

MUNNY

(thoughtfully)

Should be easy killin' em... supposin' they don't

run off to Texas first.

 

NED

(taking the pot from the stove)

How long since you shot a gun at a man?

(pause)

Nine... ten years?

 

MUNNY

Eleven.

 

NED

Easy, huh? Hell, I don't know that it was all that

easy then... an' we was young an' full of beans.

(pouring coffee)

Bill... if you was mad at 'em... if they done you wrong...

I could see shootin' 'em...

 

MUNNY

(looking Ned in the eye)

We done stuff before for money, Ned.

 

NED

(sitting down)

Well, we thought we was doin' it for money...

(Peoples, p. 27)

Domain as it relates to Universe:

Unlike Munny, Ned has adapted to the peaceful life of farming very well, to the point where he doesn't need the reward money. He's not the bad man he used to be, and tries to convince Munny that he's not either.

Concern as it relates to The Future:

Ned finds he's no longer able to deprive other men of their future -- by killing them -- and parts with Munny to seek other prospects in Kansas.

 

Range as it relates to Openness:

At first protesting that he and Munny "ain't bad men no more," Ned re-evaluates and decides that "they got it comin'..." when told of the slashers' brutality to their victim; when it's time to pull the trigger, Ned re-evaluates killing as a way to make money and decides against it.

Counterpoint as it relates to Preconception:

Ned tries to shake Munny's stubborn confidence about killing:

MUNNY

We done stuff for money before, Ned.

 

NED

Well, we -- thought-- we was doin' it for money.

(Peoples, p. 27)

Ned's instant dislike of the Kid based on his bad shooting proves justified later when it turns out the Kid lied about his eyesight and his killing prowess.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Openness vs. Preconception:

At first against killing, Ned re-evaluates and goes for it, only to re-evaluate again at the moment of truth and give up on the goal, his prejudice against killing triumphing finally.

Problem as it relates to Help:

Ned partners up with Munny to lend him (im)moral support in pursuit of Quick Mike and Davey, leading Ned back to killing; Ned stitches Munny's wounds and helps him get back to a state of battle-readiness; Ned offers his Spencer rifle to Munny, to help him with killing Quick Mike.

Solution as it relates to Hinder:

Ned could help Munny be a better farmer and so undermine the need to go after the reward; at the moment of truth, Ned (the only good shot among the three, with the best rifle) hinders the mission by refusing to shoot Davey; he makes it difficult for Munny to get Quick Mike by refusing to come along, and quitting.

Focus as it relates to Uncontrolled:

Unable to regulate his lust, Ned goes to get a "free one," leaving Munny alone to face Little Bill and his men; losing control of his aim, Ned "is sweating, his hand is shaking" and he can't pull the trigger on Davey -- leaving Munny to do the killing; his mind wandering under Little Bill's torture, Ned can't remember the lies he told and eventually gives up Munny's identity.

Direction as it relates to Control:

Ned tries to convince Munny that "you ain't like that no more" to stop him from killing; Ned focuses Munny's attention on how difficult the killing's going to be; Ned tries to control the information about Munny that Little Bill extracts from him through torture.

Stipulation as it relates to The Past:

As they get nearer their victims, Ned and Munny's former killing activities come to the surface: Ned's initially reluctant:

NED

Easy, huh? Hell, I don't know that it was all that

easy then... an' we was young an' full of beans.

[...]

 

MUNNY

We done stuff for money before, Ned.

 

NED

Well, we thought we was doing it for money.

(Peoples, p. 27)

Later, Ned employs liquor to try to forget their past:

MUNNY

You... you remember Eagle Hendershot? [...]

I seen him. [...] His head was all busted open

so's you could see the inside.

 

NED

Jesus, Bill, you got fever. Take a drink, will you?

(Peoples, p. 75)

Tortured by Little Bill, Ned threatens him with Munny's reputation in an attempt to save his skin:

LITTLE SUE

An' Ned says you done a lot worse than that,

said you was more cold blooded than William

Bonney or Clay Allison or the James Brothers an'

how if he hurt Ned again you was gonna come an'

kill him like you killed a U.S. Marshall in '73.

(Peoples, p. 118)

Unique Ability as it relates to Choice:

Realizing Munny will go after the reward without him anyway, Ned decides to come along and act as an ever-present reminder to Munny of how they've changed their ways; Ned's decision not to kill and to go home makes it harder on Munny, but not enough to prevent him from killing.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Hope:

Ned's hope that Munny shares his guilt enough to also prevent him from killing Davey is unfounded; Ned's hopes of returning home peacefully are shattered by Little Bill, causing Munny to become a mean, cold-blooded killer again for revenge.

---

ACT PROGRESSIONS:

The Objective Throughline Act Order:

Objective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Understanding:

Strawberry Alice and the other whores understand that they'll get no justice from Little Bill, and initiate a reward; Munny resists Kid Schofield's offer to partner up, trying to make him understand that "I ain't like that anymore."

Objective Story Journey #1 from Understanding to Learning:

Frustrated that his wife's not around to advise him, Munny teams up with Ned and they're mistakenly shot at by the Kid. Little Bill teaches English Bob and WW his gun control policy.

Objective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Learning:

Ned and Munny learn why the Kid needs a partner -- he "can't see worth a shit"; WW Beauchamp learns how difficult it is to shoot a man when he can't pull the trigger on Little Bill.

Objective Story Journey #2 from Learning to Doing:

Disappointed that they wouldn't take a shot at him, Little Bill kicks English Bob out of town and retains WW's services. Ned and the Kid take up drinking and whoring again.

Objective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Doing:

Little Bill tells his hyped-up life story to WW, who tries to dodge water leaks from the roof; Kid Schofield and Ned indulge themselves with a few free ones with the whores, while Little Bill kicks Munny into the street, literally.

Objective Story Journey #3 from Doing to Obtaining:

Ned nurses a death-fearing Munny back to health, but is unable to perform the killing of Davey. Munny and the Kid kill Quick Mike and Davey and get the reward, while Little Bill takes Ned's life.

Objective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Obtaining:

Munny exacts revenge on Little Bill, Skinny, et al -- those who've wronged him and Ned -- by taking their lives; WW tries to get the chronology of the shootings straight for the record.

The Subjective Throughline Act Order:

Subjective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Conceptualizing:

When Ned's wife sees Munny's shotgun tucked in his saddle, she envisions there's killing to be done; Ned visualizes splitting the reward, and why Munny needs him:

NED

Three ways?

 

MUNNY

Yup. You still got the Spencer rifle?

 

NED

Yeah, an' I could still hit a bird in the eye flyin'.

(Peoples, p. 29)

Subjective Story Journey #1 from Conceptualizing to Being:

When Munny's disturbed by the vision of the drover he shot and by how mean he used to be, Ned tries to comfort him by pretending that he always liked him.

Subjective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Being:

When Munny acts like he won't go killing without Ned, the Kid accepts the new partner; Ned pretends there's a hawk overhead to expose the Kid's lack of vision and show Munny what kind of partner they've got.

Subjective Story Journey #2 from Being to Conceiving:

Responding to the Kid's probing, an uncomfortable Munny pretends not to recollect how many men he's killed. Ned doesn't like the question either, getting the idea that liquor will help:

NED: I brung this for when we had to kill those fellows. I guess we could use it now.

(Peoples, p. 67)

Subjective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Conceiving:

Ned suggests that Munny take a drink to quell his fever, and comes up with the idea of Munny and him taking an advance from the whores.

Subjective Story Journey #3 from Conceiving to Becoming:

A fearful Munny gets the idea he's dying, but rejects Delilah's offer of a free one, like the ones his partner's been getting. When Ned can't shoot Davey, Munny takes over his rifle and becomes a killer again.

Subjective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Becoming:

When Munny finds that Little Bill's killed Ned and transformed his corpse into a warning -- complete with a sign -- he becomes the killer he used to be and goes after Little Bill.

The Main Character Throughline Act Order:

Main Character Signpost #1 as it relates to The Conscious:

Looking at her photo and her gravestone, Munny contemplates how his wife would feel about him going killing again.

Main Character Journey #1 from The Conscious to Memory:

Realizing his horse and marksmanship seem to be working against him, Munny recruits his friend Ned and reminds him:

MUNNY

We done stuff for money before, Ned.

(Peoples, p. 27)

Main Character Signpost #2 as it relates to Memory:

Munny remembers a drover he killed for no reason, and how none of his buddies liked him on account of his meanness.

Main Character Journey #2 from Memory to The Preconscious:

Munny relates how the memory of his late wife keeps him from liquor and whoring:

MUNNY

Claudia, God rest her soul, she wouldn't have

wanted me doin' nothin' like that, me bein' a

father, an' all.

(Peoples, p. 48)

His initial response to Ned's offer of "gettin' an advance offa them sporting ladies" is to "stare vacantly at the whiskey bottle."

Main Character Signpost #3 as it relates to The Preconscious:

Munny's instinctive response to Little Bill's demanding he turn his gun over is to deny he's carrying one, even though:

LITTLE BILL

[...] if I was to call you a no good sonofabitch an'

a liar, an' if I was to say you shit in your pants on

account of a cowardly soul... well, I guess then,

you would show me your pistol right quick an'

shoot me dead, ain't that so?

(Peoples, p. 76)

Main Character Journey #3 from The Preconscious to The Subconscious:

Though beaten half to death, Munny's reaction is stoicism and reflection on killing. Taking Davey's and Quick Mike's lives satisfies his drive for money, but his true nature emerges with news of his friend's death.

Main Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Subconscious:

When Munny hears that Ned's "got a sign on him in front of Greely's," the cold-blooded killer that's at the core of his being surfaces, and he kills five men singlehandedly.

The Obstacle Character Throughline Act Order:

Obstacle Character Signpost #1 as it relates to The Past:

Approached by Munny to go killing, Ned reminds him how long it's been since they shot a man, and what it was like:

NED

Hell, I don't know that it was all that easy then...

an' we was young an' full of beans.

(Peoples, p. 27)

Obstacle Character Journey #1 from The Past to Progress:

Worried about Munny's feelings of self-loathing, Ned tells him how he liked him even back when he was mean. Ned succeeds in bringing out the good side of Munny when Munny insists on Ned being an equal partner.

Obstacle Character Signpost #2 as it relates to Progress:

Ned shows Munny that things aren't going as well as they expected with his revelation of the Kid's shortsightedness; as they get closer to Big Whiskey, Ned starts drinking to bolster his courage.

Obstacle Character Journey #2 from Progress to The Future:

Relieved to escape Greely's unharmed, Ned sets up a meeting with the whores. He stitches Munny up, getting him fit for the difficult work ahead.

Obstacle Character Signpost #3 as it relates to The Future:

Faced with ending young Davey's future, Ned can't bring himself to shoot another man; Ned quits the mission and promises to look in on Munny's kids in the future.

Obstacle Character Journey #3 from The Future to The Present:

A distraught Ned offers his Spencer rifle to Munny as he won't be using it anymore, then is captured by the Bar T boys. Little Bill tortures him to death and puts him on display as an ever-present reminder to other would-be assassins.

Obstacle Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Present:

Though Ned tried to dissuade Munny from killing while he was alive, now that he's dead -- a

"body in the upright coffin in the flickering light of a torch standing next to it and, of course, Ned looks bad and the crudely scrawled sign over the coffin says "This is what happens to assassins around here."

 

-- the sight of him changes Munny back into a cold-blooded killer.

---

Miscellaneous Other Storytelling Items:

All Concerns:

Munny and Ned join the Kid in his endeavor to get the reward money offered by Strawberry Alice for killing Delilah's slashers, Quick Mike and Davey. To collect it involves becoming a killer again for Munny, and for the first time for the Kid. Ned ain't like that any more and leaves, but Little Bill kills him, bringing out Munny's true nature, that of a mean killer.

Master Plot Synopsis:

The scene is Wyoming in the 1880s. William Munny is a former gunslinger who, transformed by the love of a good woman, gave up a life of indiscriminate killing to raise a family and try his hand at pig farming. With his wife now dead and his farm a failure, [Munny] is lured back into the killing game by the "Schofield Kid," an aspiring young gunfighter who brings the older man word of a bounty being offered in the frontier town of Big Whiskey. (After a cowboy has slashed the face of a prostitute there, the woman's coworkers have offered a reward for the death of the attacker and his accomplice.) Munny refuses the young man's offer of partnership but later reconsiders, leaves his two children in charge of the property, and-together with his old sidekick Ned Logan -sets off to join [Kid Schofield].

The autocratic sheriff of Big Whiskey, "Little Bill" Daggett, has treated the slashing incident with the gravity of a traffic violation, ordering the culprits to pay a fine in the form of horses. (In keeping with the film's critique of sexual politics, the fine is due, not to the disfigured woman, but to the brothel-keeper who paid good money for her and is now out of pocket.) [Little Bill] is furious when he finds out the prostitutes have put a price on the men's heads, making his town a magnet for professional gunslingers. He outlaws firearms in Big Whiskey and brutally beats and humiliates the first bounty hunter to defy the ban, English Bob. A notorious shootist who has crossed paths with Little Bill before, [English Bob] is accompanied by a "biographer," W.W. Beauchamp, who has chronicled Bob's (heavily embellished) exploits in several cheap novels, but who soon transfers his allegiance to the more down-to-earth sheriff.

Munny, Ned, and the Kid arrive in Big Whiskey during a torrential downpour. Munny, who has a fever, is left in the bar on the first floor of the brothel while his cohorts go upstairs to "negotiate" with the prostitutes-i.e., take advances on the reward money in the form of freebies. Alerted to the arrival of more armed men, Little Bill and his deputies viciously beat Munny and throw him into the street, where he is rescued by his escaping partners and taken into the hills.

After Munny's recovery, the three ambush one of the two cowboys who attacked the prostitute. Munny, however, is forced to be the rifleman, since Ned finds he no longer has the stomach for killing. (En route to Big Whiskey, the two have already discovered that the Kid is shortsighted, and is incapable of shooting anything more than 20 yards away.) Ned decides to return home, foregoing his share of the reward and leaving his companions to tackle the second slasher alone. On the way he is captured by Little Bill's men, tortured to death, and left on display outside the bar/bordello.

Munny and the Kid track the second cowboy to a heavily guarded ranchhouse, where the man eventually makes a rashly unaccompanied trip to the outhouse and is shot at point-blank range by the Kid. While waiting for a rendezvous with the woman who will bring their reward, the Kid confesses that, contrary to his earlier boastings, he has never killed a man before, and is horrified at what he has done. The woman arrives with the money and with news of Ned's death, prompting Munny to go back into Big Whiskey alone to exact his murderous revenge.

(Cinebooks Motion Picture Guide, in Cinemania)

Master Theme Synopsis:

"The moral is the concern with gunplay."

(Clint Eastwood. Video blurb, Warner Bros.)

Or, less stoically, when is it justified to take the life of another human being? Most people would probably agree that killing is acceptable to save another life from being taken unjustly, especially your own. But that scenario, unlike in other Westerns, is not presented in Unforgiven. The would-be killers here are ready to take others' lives for their own financial benefit and a little fame. Even the whores seem greedy in their justice, demanding capital punishment for a knife slashing. The good Ned chooses not to kill anymore, but in this violent Wild West there's no walking away. As Munny says:

MUNNY

He didn't even kill nobody. Why would anybody

kill Ned?

(Peoples, p. 116)

Munny kills for the money, and survives because he reverts back to being meaner than the rest, killing an unarmed man and shooting dead all who resist his will.

Subjective Character Synopsis:

Munny and Ned are both former killers of men who've retired to farming, Ned successfully, Munny a dismal failure. Munny's open to killing as a quick score of easy money, and Ned joins him more for adventure and camaraderie than anything else. But killing's not easy, and has its costs for the killer as well as the killed. Munny gets his money, but also gains new faces of death to haunt him and loses his best friend, Ned, to a brutal death.

Master Character Synopsis:

William Munny's a former gunslinger who was at the top of his profession because of his meanness and reckless disregard for human life. Now a poor farmer and a widowed father, he's tempted by the easy money that Kid Schofield offers, a wannabe gunslinger who needs Munny's help because he can't see past fifty yards. Munny recruits his old partner Ned, a sharpshooter who's a good farmer but misses the action, but unlike Munny no longer finds killing easy. The three have little compunction in going after Quick Mike and Davey, cowboys who carved up the whore Delilah over a small matter, for the reward put up by the justice-hungry whore Strawberry Alice. Gentleman mercenary and liar English Bob also wants the money, and the immortal status offered by pulp fictioneer WW Beauchamp, a tenderfoot writer from the East. In all of their way stands Little Bill, sadistic sheriff and seeker of fame himself, who's more interested in protecting the financial interests of Skinny the pimp than in effecting justice.