Unforgiven (1992)

You can't argue that Clint Eastwood didn't have a good teacher when it comes to putting together a good western. For the most part, those lessons seems have been taken to heart, as this tale of beat up brothel girls and the men hired to exact revenge manages to hit all the right notes. You've got your wide and untamed expanses, a tough-as-nails sheriff trying to keep order, hookers with hearts of gold, and Eastwood himself bringing the permanent squint. The devil, of course, is in the details, and this in many ways feels like Leone's (and Eastwood's) Man with No Name character a few decades hence, reformed and deeply remorseful. Everything has an air of melancholic sadness, every shootout feels like a hollow victory. There's an emotional depth here uncommon in the genre, in contrast to the usual fond nostalgia for a bygone era. This is a film that takes its time not to build suspense, but to build a point. The result is a feeling of heartbreaking loss at what time and sorrow can do to a man.

9 out of 10.