The people of the world have become so corrupted that it is necessary to use violence to overcome violence and evil to overcome evil?
Westerns are getting away from us, and director and star Clint Eastwood is definitely a throwback. The whole film doesn't have too many fancy sets, gorgeous costumes, nor exaggerated muscle men and hot scenes. The final bar duel only lasted a few minutes. Compared with contemporaries such as "First Blood" and "The Terminator," such commercial blockbusters, bland seems a bit dull.
As far as the plot is concerned, it is also a bit old-fashioned. A retired old hitman seeks justice for a humiliated prostitute. Eastwood's performance, albeit a bit of a B. But it cannot be denied that the image of the generation of American tough guys he represents does have a reason and meaning for its existence. But is the Western, or what Americans call it, the spirit of the West and the plot, and the traditional chivalry of the West, really gone forever? This question may also be what the director wants to express through the film.
From the film of more than 130 minutes, it seems that a lot of affairs have been integrated in chaos, in the town of Big Whiskey, Kansas, Wyoming, in the western United States. The town's sheriff, "Little Bill", is a capable man who wants to maintain local law and order. But with the development of society, some rude methods can no longer limit the people who have been enlightened in thought. His old-fashioned methods, although for a while, intimidated many people. But can't scare those, the real outlaws.
Gun control issues, racial discrimination, personal heroism, traditional chivalrous spirit. Director Eastwood, have obvious exposure. Personally, I think the sheriff "Little Bill" died because he wanted to violently control guns. Eastwood, a member of the Democratic Party, ultimately wants to express that as a calm male, he knows how guns are used and who should be shot. Perhaps in his subtext, he also expressed that the right to bear a gun conferred by the U.S. Constitution is to allow people of insight with chivalrous spirit to resist those tyranny and abuse of power.
Heroes are needed in any age. But whether this hero belongs to the government or the people is a question that deserves our consideration. Obviously William in the movie is on the opposite side of the federal government represented by the sheriff "Little Bill". And finally settled all conflicts with his own values. The story begins with recklessness and blood and ends with recklessness and blood. Although I don't know why Mr. Eastwood is so obsessed with violence. But the kind of belligerence, arrogance, and ruthlessness in the bones may be the truest portrayal of white Americans.
William's partner, Black Logan, is actually an innocent man. All the people who died in the movie were not wicked people. Perhaps the reason for them to eventually die is just desire and impulse. As the sheriff "Little Bill" boasted to the author of the best-selling novel in the movie, only calm people deserve to live. William had the last laugh, perhaps because he was the calmest and most unhurried. This kind of mature man's temperament is also what Eastwood strongly advertises.
This style of film has never appeared in the best Oscars before. If I had to find someone close, it might be "Ordinary People". Both express the calmness and perseverance of white mature men. It is estimated that this sense of identity made the Oscar judges of the year cast a solemn vote. And since then, there has been an endless stream of films celebrating the stalwart image of white mature men. Maybe it is nostalgia, maybe it is a response to Lian Po's old age, Shang Nengfan is not satisfied, or it may be a desire to express his old ambitions and his ambitions, and it is a response to some politically correct voices in the United States.
Men of different age groups have their own different pursuits and confusions. But the objective law of aging is unavoidable. After the younger generations have sprung up like mushrooms, how to find their own position may be something that every man of his age will have to face and think about. This is life, just think about it and get old.
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