Cities in Asphalt Jungle

Asphalt Jungle certainly does not portray cities as a pleasant place to live. Cities in Asphalt Jungle were nothing more then crime infested areas, full of corruption and people wanting to get out. Virtually every character in one way or another wanted to escape the city, whether physically or symbolically. I think that the "weaknesses" of the characters were also a representation of them avoiding city life. Although Dix was the only character that constantly was reminded of going back to Kentucky to his farm, and physically wanting to leaving the city; other characters to a certain extent wanted to as well. For example, I think the cigars that the Doctor smokes, are a way of avoiding city life. He just wants to get as much pleasure as he can out of small things, and by doing so "mentally" avoids the city. Cobby does the same thing by drinking alcohol. It even reached the point where he feels uncomfortable when another character rejects his offering of alcohol. Almost as if it is a rejection of escaping the city. Emmerich tries to escape the hardships of living in a city both mentally and physically. When he tried to cheat the Doctor out of all the jewels, he was planning on making a run to Cuba, or somewhere out of the states. He also mentally avoided the city with his affair. The corrupt police officer also mentally avoided city life, by taking money from Cobby. Perhaps money is his way of avoiding the stresses of living in the city. The way that city life was portrayed, was certainly a negative view. And although not all characters might have clearly showed that they dislike the city, in one way or another they hinted around the fact.

Rumors and stories

A large portion of Unforgiven was about Rumors and past stories of certain characters. However  ironically, in most cases it was not the character telling a story about himself, but another person telling a story about a character. Sharing stories, and spreading them almost seems like the history textbook of the Wild West. The stories a person heard about someone were almost considered the best evidence there is; even better then the actual person telling a story about themselves. For example, when the kid asks Will Munny about the story he heard about Will killing two deputies, he believed himself more then Will. When he asked, Will replied that "he does not recall". Instead of the kid accepting it, he says whatever, and that the kids uncle said it was one of the most spectacular things he has ever seen. It goes to show that the story and rumor is the "real textbook". Even though Will Munny should have the best memory on the event, the kid still believed the story more than Will. But on the other hand, the ending of Unforgiven shows you that perhaps the rumors were not as exaggerated as you might have thought. The rumors in the beggining and middle were mostly about the past of Will Munny, and how other characters viewed it. After a few stories, you started getting a sense that perhaps they werent real. Will did not reflect the character that he does in the stories. However the ending drastically changes your view. At first you are slowly introduced to Will's real character. You see him kill a man, and have no regrets about it; unlike the kid, who after killing a man completely fell apart emotionally. And finally the most important scene. You knew Will was going to kill Little Bill, but it was certainly not expected that he would take out another group of men along with Bill. That last scene showed that perhaps all these rumors about Will killing people, actually had some truth in them.
But there was one final rumor, which I actually considered false or somewhat different from the rest. Right before the shoot-out at the bar, Little Bill asks Will "You are Will Munny, killer of women and children" and Will replies, "Yes I am a killer of women and children". There were two odd things about this rumor. Typically if Will was indeed a killer of women and children, then you would expect him to not have any sympathy over life, and kill whoever he pleases. However at the bar, although he massacred more men, his only intentions were to kill Little Bill and the Bar owner, as revenge for the killing of Ned. This was shown when he told everyone to move out of the way right before shooting the Bar owner and Little Bill. He did not intend on killing anyone else. The other odd thing about this rumor; this was the only rumor that Will actually "admitted to". In the past whenever Will was asked a question about his past , he would always reply "I suppose" or "I dont remember". But in this one occasion he replied "Yes I am a killer of women and children" unlike all his other responses.

Moral Ambiguity in Unforgiven

The Moral Ambiguity in Unforgiven was very clear. Every character more or less displayed it. Little Bill is a sheriff and in most films the sheriff is usually the person trying to keep the town together, and combat any evil. Although in most cases that is exactly how Little Bill behaved, there were a few actions which show the opposite. For example when he badly beat up English Bob and Will, even though they were anarmed. Although he hated assassins and wanted to prevent future ones from coming, inside the prison he performed something very odd. He wanted English Bob to take his gun and try to kill him. But the thinking behind this was that as soon as English Bob touches the gun, Little Bill would open fire. The moral ambiguity was very clear in Little Bill. But it was even more clear in Will Munny. Besides his decision of killing the two men so that he can get money to raise his kids, it was the ending which was the most interesting. At the very end he decided upon going into the inn and killing Little Bill. He first killed the owner of the inn. Little Bill called him a coward for killing an unarmed man. Next he proceeded to trying to kill Little Bill, who was armed, but not prepared obviously. But once the gun misfired, he took out his revolver, and under fire killed Little Bill, along with 4 other deputies. At this point it seems that perhaps he is actually an evil character. But that is not entirely true. Before his decision of killing the owner of the inn, he told everyone else to move away (since he was using a shotgun). He did the same thing when he was going to kill Little Bill with shotgun. This shows he still has some consience in him. He did not want to kill anyone besides the people he planned on killing (the inn owner, and Little Bill). Although he killed 4 other deputies during the shoot out, it was only done to save his own life. However after the firing has stopped, he let everyone else (armed or not) walk out. So although Will Munnys true character was shown at the end, and proved not to be the best. He still had some reason left in him.

Unforgiven Good vs Evil?

I feel like Unforgiven is related to Runaway Train with the lack of a "good vs evil" theme. Just like in Runaway Train where Manny and Rankin arent neccessarily good or evil, in Unforgiven Will Munny can also be considered neutral. Little Bill is the sheriff and typically it is a valid assumption that anyone that opposes a sheriff can be considered "evil". There are also many stories of Will Munny's past which would suggest that he isnt a "good" character. And now he is off to kill some men for money. However you also have to take into consideration that the story Will Munny was told, was severely exaggerated. He finally decided that he has to kill the men , so that he can claim the money and support his kids. So on one hand you have a guy who is willing to kill for money. But on the other hand you have someone who is willing to do something more extreme if it allows him to support his kids. It is impossible to say whether he is "good or evil". Little Bill also has a somewhat shady appearance. Although generally he is the "good guy", he has some debatable actions. For example, when he disarmed English Bob only beat him up the next minute. Beating up someone thats unarmed isnt exactly an action a typical "hero" would perform. However on the other hand he was trying to make an example of him so that more people will not come to claim the reward and kill the two men. It does not explain his action at the prison though. He told English Bob that if he shoots him, he can go free. However in reality he just wanted a reason to shoot English Bob instead. Giving someone a weapon, so that you can kill them is not an action a "hero" would perform either. I feel no character in Unforgiven can be classified as Good or Evil. All the other characters are "allied" with either Will Munny or Little Bill. If Neither of the two characters are good or bad, then certainly their allies can not be refferred to as good or bad as well.

The Painter

Out of all the characters, I would have to say the Painter from the earlier scenes is the one that truely understood that one cannot hide from Death, and that it is all around the place. He also viewed life as it is, and not how it should be. When the squire walked in to observe the paintings, he was puzzled as to why the painter did not paint something more cheerful. The squire insisted that no one will view the painting of death if it is depressing. But the painter replied that this is the reality, and nothing but the truth. He also painted some images of the black plague, and the people whipping themselves. The squire found it tough to observe it. But from the painters point, it was how he viewed life. He was not optimistic about it, but realistic. The squire had an optimistic view on life. He was not able to stare at the painting, which sort of shows that he did not want to accept the truth.