There is no mystery to this man as he rides into the western town of Big Whisky with clear intentions to kill two men in exchange for money. The title of the film is quite apt. Eastwood paints the Old West in a deservedly unforgiving light. He forgoes the majestic musical scores that always accompany panoramic western vistas. His shoot-outs are slow, messy, and agonizing.
Nobody gets what they deserve.
Unforgiven completely shatters Western mythology, stripping it of all the glamour, all the glory, and all the romance. The whores don't have hearts of gold. The sheriff keeps the peace through brutality and intimidation. And the gunfighting protagonist is a mean, vicious murderer. Even his own movies.