Based on a screenplay that reworks elements of the classic revenge Western, Unforgiven was shot on location in a remote setting in Western Canada that proved a flawless match for the American frontier of the 1880s. Eastwood plays an ex-gunfighter, lured out of retirement by the chance to redress a brutal assault of a prostitute and to earn some much-needed money for his two children. While a moral ambiguity pervaded the film, Unforgiven went on to become an unprecedented critical and box-office success.