Unhinged

Starring: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, Austin P. McKenzie, Juliene Joyner, Stephen Louis Grush, Michael Papajohn
Directed by: Derrick Borte
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Caren Pistorius) is hunted by a driver (Russell Crowe) after a confrontation at an intersection.

Review:

Tim: When I heard that Russell Crowe was playing a road rager, I was immediately there. Crowe is a good actor and while his heroes are outstanding (Maximus is still one of my favorite heroes of all time), he is so good at the villains, too. I was definitely excited to see him in full psychopath mode. Crowe lives up to expectations, but Derrick Borte's film doesn't. Unhinged is decent, but a weak script doesn't help it. It loses its way as the story progresses and ultimately never lives up to its promise. I enjoyed parts of the film, but was disappointed in the end.

A road rage movie is definitely something relatable in 2020. We might have been on the roads less during this pandemic year, but people's emotions were raised and oftentimes at a boiling point. The movie felt timely in this regard. There's something so frightening about the premise. I love the movie's tag line- "He can happen to anyone." It's a reminder that you never know who you interact with outside your home. If you anger the wrong person at the wrong time, you may be in for a world of hurt. That's a horrific reality of our lives, but there's some truth in that. This movie pulls on those fears and the random nature of road rage. It made you think- "This could happen to me." That's truly chilling and it's one of the film's biggest strengths.

The problem with the movie is that the story feels so forced and unrealistic. It's one thing to have a psycho chasing down a woman who honked at him, but Crowe's character commits a series of visible crimes and yet the police are unable to stop him (or even keep up with him). As the movie progressed, this just became harder and harder to believe. My incredulity was stretched past the breaking point. This is completely an issue with the script. There was definitely a way to make this movie without asking us to believe unrealistic things. For example, (MINOR SPOILER)- Crowe's character kills a man in cold blood in a restaurant while people all around him film him on their cell phones. And, he's able to easily escape from that situation. The police have him cornered a number of times and this overweight man is able to elude capture. I simply didn't believe it. That pushing of what is realistic greatly hurts the movie.

Crowe absolutely helps it, though. As I said, he can play these ferocious, dangerous characters like few others. He has this look on his face that's chilling. I love how he is able to portray psychopathy and explosive anger in subtle ways. Nearly everything he does in this movie is frightening. It was wonderfully uncomfortable watching Crowe in this over-the-top role. Making him appear shockingly large as a person further threw you off balance. Crowe manages to disappear into this role while simultaneously bringing the best parts of his acting ability the forefront of the character. It's a great performance and one of the big reasons to see this movie. Caren Pistorius. She was good in Slow West a number of years ago and she gives another good performance here. I don't think Pistorius will ever be a star, but she's a serviceable enough lead. Her character was occasionally annoying and did some unrealistic things, but she is able to make you care just enough about her. She does utter the film's best line towards the end of the movie and get some extra points for that. She works well opposite Crowe and while I didn't love her performance, I don't have too many complaints. I liked seeing Jimmi Simpson here, but I wish he had a bit more to do. Gabriel Bateman was solid as well.

Unhinged keeps the action going. Borte's film has a strong sense of momentum and at 90 minutes, it's a tightly wound film. Not much time is wasted, which is good. I really enjoyed the pacing. No issues there. The biggest concerns I have are all with the script. This could have easily been a good movie, save for those shortcomings. As is, the movie has some obvious strengths, but it ultimately feels like a film that could have should have been better. Still, it's a decent time. And, one other benefit is that it caused me to honk my horn at far fewer people on the road. Seriously, I noticed a big difference after watching this movie. That is certainly a plus.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Joy Ride, Duel, Virtuosity