Directed by:
Derrick BorteScreenplay:
Carl EllsworthCinematography:
Brendan GalvinComposer:
David BuckleyCast:
Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, Austin P. McKenzie, Stephen Louis Grush, Anne Leighton, Devyn A. Tyler, Sylvia Grace Crim (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Russell Crowe stars in Unhinged, a psychological thriller that takes something we've all experienced--road rage--to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is running late getting to work when she crosses paths with a stranger (Crowe) at a traffic light. Soon, Rachel finds herself and everyone she loves the target of a man who feels invisible and is looking to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know who you're driving next to. (Nordisk Film Fin.)
(more)Videos (9)
Reviews (9)
What I enjoyed most about Unhinged out was watching Russell Crowe and his attempt to not overact, lest the rest of the film suck. He mostly succeeds, although in a few scenes it's obvious he has to hold back a lot. Otherwise, though, I really struggle to find anything here that would make me recommend this generic thriller to anyone. The action scenes and chases are shot without any ideas, the supporting characters are only lightly sketched, and the ninety minutes damn near drag on. Moreover, thanks to the montage of real events that they drop on us along with the opening credits, it's obvious that Unhinged would dearly love to be not only a thriller, but a commentary on the current stress-ridden America. Unfortunately, however, it's too simple and unentertaining for that. In fact, if Russell Crowe wasn't in it, I don't believe the film would have made it into theaters. In fact, I don't think anyone would have been interested. There's nothing to it.
()
Already at the outset, Unhinged grabs the viewer's attention with a stark but incisive overview of the state of crime and society in the US, a land of unlimited possibilities but limited people. After a brief prologue and introduction to the characters, what follows is pure thriller action, where at times you just stare at the screen in disbelief and outrage, with pissed off thoughts running through your head, wondering if something like this is the order of the day (in America). Russell Crowe inhabits the role of a psychopathic asshole who needs really little to piss him off in a chillingly convincing way, and I was definitely not rooting for him and I wished him nothing but the worst possible ending. Whether Unhinged is a realistic reflection of American society I cannot judge, as I don't live there, but even if it is a universal image, I was indeed impressed. All I missed was perhaps a little more background on Russell's character.
()
This is exactly the type of movie I could imagine watching on a Sunday evening on TV in the absence of Russell Crowe, who is still an "A-list" actor. Without him, it wouldn’t work. However, he played the role of an angry, furious, and psychologically disturbed giant of a man who has nothing to lose excellently. When a woman honks at him, he sets off on a path of no return. Yes, the story is rather stupid, and the script doesn’t come up with any innovative ideas (the omnipresent absence of police forces, with a few exceptions, is glaring). Thus, the whole plot feels bland and stale. The film is lifted from mediocrity by two or maybe three aspects: Crowe’s excellent performance (yes, he overacts, but it fits the role), the gritty approach that is not afraid to go for bloodier moments (like the highway scene), and a simple but very effective soundtrack mainly based on booming and captivating tones. Don’t expect this film to be a sophisticated affair. Turn off your brain for a while and you’ll see it can entertain. I’d give it a 6.5/10.
()
Unhinged surprisingly and slowly builds up into a slasher flick. However, it is needlessly overwrought and implausible with illogical nonsense. Crowe might have been suited for the role if we didn’t know him as an A-list character actor. Getting used to him and appreciating his performance as a deranged psychopathic rapist and murderer is practically impossible, which is also due to the one-dimensionality of his character without any explanation of the reasons for his behaviour. In the context of the genre, Unhinged is a completely unnecessary film that drowns out its brainlessness with brutish violence.
()
Gosh, all the fat Crowe jokes have all been picked over. As for the film itself, it's a scattershot compilation of themes revolving around behavior behind the wheel, the problems associated with communications technology, the obligatory turning from the victim into the hunter, and the changing times that leave some people behind. It's all terribly superficial though, as often the characters are punished pointlessly by the film (the woman painting her eyes in the car couldn't have prevented the fatal accident anyway), we don't really learn anything about the background of the antagonist who tries to capture attention for a while like a latter-day D-Fens, and the whole line about how easily we can be tracked through a communication device falls flat as no one is able to track down the villain, who makes no effort not to be tracked down, throughout his killing spree. Unfortunately, as a god-awful thriller, it doesn't really work either, as the film tries several times to convince us that John Goodman can sneak up on someone quietly from behind, no one in the convoy notices when another car repeatedly crashes into the car next to it, and it's also so poorly edited that at times it feels like the film is getting rid of some content at the last minute. And the car chases are cut in the same mode over and over again A (shot of the heroine's car), B (shot of the heroine in the car), C (shot of the antagonist's car), D (shot of the antagonist in the car).
()
Ads