'Unforgiven' Does This One Goofy Small Thing That's Completely Genius

One of my favorite movies of all time is the revisionist Western Unforgiven. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and takes us into the world of the Wild West in ways that felt revolutionary when it came out.

But aside from the grittiness and violence, and the realism on display, I actually think there's a goofy small thing that makes the movie one of the greatest of all time.

It's the fact that Clint Eastwood's character can't figure out how to ride his horse during the first half of the movie.

Let's dive in.

The Legend of Clint Eastwood

The name Clint Eastwood conjures up one of the badass actors of all time. He was a stalwart in Westerns like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He was terrifying as Dirty Harry and considered to be tall, handsome, and formidable.

By the time 1992 rolled around, Clint Eastwood was an absolute legend of the screen. He was one of the biggest movie stars of all time, and if his character was holding a gun, you knew the bad guy was going to be dead.

But in the movie Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood used that legendary status against himself. He plays an old gunman with many tall tales about him.

And yet, when it's time to set off on one last ride....he can't get on his horse.

The Cowboy Who Can't Ride

Right when you meet Eastwood in the movie, he's wrestling sick pigs and trying to raise a family after his wife has died. And when a bounty hunter comes to recruit him to kill cowboys....Eastwood can't get on his horse.

It's a small and goofy thing, but it really shows you this old gunner hasn't taken himself seriously in quite some time.

He's a legendary cowboy portrayed by Eastwood, and he's getting bucked off his horse left and right in this movie.

Now, this is a tiny detail in the movie, and if you took it out, maybe you think you wouldn't notice it, but I promise you that you would, because it completely sells you who Eastwood is in this moment and takes the entire piss out of his mythos.

It makes him look like a feeble man who is completely overmatched when it comes to the violence of the West.

It also makes us question the legend around him.

Was this guy really a badass? Was he someone who should be feared?

That way, you have a tangible way a character can arc. Because at the end of the movie, when he's killed all the bad guys, we see him get on his horse and ride away with no problem. We both mentally and physically know this guy still has it in him, and that he's not a man to be crossed.

Filmmaking Lessons

What is a tangible way to ucan show your character has arced internally? If you take one thing away from this post, it's that the more you can externalize the internal struggle, the more you give the audience to grab onto.

This is such a smart way to both goof around in the beginning and then get deathly serious later.

It sells the world and the legend in such a small way, but it sticks out when you know you're watching a masterpiece.

Summing It All Up

What are some little lessons like this you have learned from other movies? And what are your favorite parts of Unforgiven?

Let me know what you think in the comments.