Married to the same guy for 44 years. Unbeeleebable. She was and is the juice.
As for the movie, slow this may seem, that is what passed for gritty in the pre Peckenpah era. MAX von SYDOW doing what was the Larry Olivier equivalent with Dustin Hoffman as the protagonist antagonist ten years later, in R rated times, this all seems rather tamer than tame.
As to the ending, it gets just as twisty as they could possibly get--and without spoilers, I quote the 1970 version of the same thematic line
"Willie go round in circles,
Willie fly high like a bird up in the sky
Willie go round in circles,
Let the bad guy win..
Every once in a while.