When making an effective thriller, the two key ingredients which ensure it's success are the film being surrounded by a compelling enough story, that'll hold the audiences interest with the second being a strong enough actor/actress in the main role to help sell both the realism and believability of the story. With Unhinged, the film appears to have both elements going for it with A-List star and Academy Award winner Russell Crowe in the main title role as a psychotic driver terrorizing a young mother and her son in a horrific act of road rage. It helps that the story for Unhinged is a rather effective one that draws comparisons to older films such as Steven Spielberg's 1971 cult-classic Duel and 2002's Joy Ride. Unhinged is a film that has the key ingredients needed to make it work, but the ultimate outcome ends up being a rather mediocre to forgettable effort despite Crowe making for a rather watchable villain with his effective performance.
The plot for Unhinged centers around a motorist (Played by Russell Crowe) with evident mental issues, taking road-rage to a whole new level with him going going on a violent killing spree after a woman (Played by Caren Pistorius) honks at him in frustration at a traffic light. Both enraged at her for doing so along with being suicidal, he steals her phone and proceeds to kill those on her contact list. The plot for Unhinged sounds thrilling on paper and has a capable actor behind it to make it work, but the film ultimately suffers from an enormous lack of enthusiasm from its filmmakers. Given Russell Crowe's stature as a serious actor as well as his impressive filmography, it appears rather odd that he would star in a thriller that ranges as being painfully mediocre. Regardless of the reason the latter agreed to be in the film, he's arguably the best thing about it with him making the most of his deranged character with the bland script given to him. Unhinged is a film that had potential to be a well-crafted and highly effective thriller if it was handled better by stronger and more focused filmmakers. Although the 90 minute suspense thriller serves as being a mildly entertaining effort at best, it ultimately falls in the category of being forgettable due to not having anything stand out about it. The film lacks the brains and thoughtfulness that its story requires in order to be a solid effort. Unhinged stands as being one of 2020's most awkward pictures as one can't see why Russell Crowe would bother with a script, that appears to be far beneath his talents as a serious dramatic actor.
The one aspect of the film that ultimately saves it from being a total waste, is the acting from its main cast with Crowe delivering a scene-stealing performance as a character whom audiences have no name of other than addressing him as "The Man". Though a completely awkward role for the star in comparison to the parts he's played before in the past, Crowe plays mentally unstable well and manages to make it work while bringing intensity to the role of a deranged motorist whose on the verge of permanently snapping. When he's on-screen, the film in itself finds its life while barely having a pulse when he's not around. Crowe conveys all the sheer anger boiling inside of the character, as well as the horror he gives off when he begins his path of terror against the mother and her son. The rest of the cast deliver fairly decent performances with Caren Pistorius being effective as Rachel Fynn, a single mother whose already experiencing a rough day leading up to her encounter with Russell's character. Pistorius does well with making her character sympathetic as she desperately tries to survive being targeted by Russell's character. Although her performance doesn't come close to the work that Crowe delivers, she still manages to make the most of her part and deliver a convincing performance. The same can also be said about Gabriel Bateman as Rachel's son Kyle Finn with Bateman playing well off his characters vulnerability regarding the situation along with working well off Pistorius. The rest of the supporting cast deliver solidly effective performances with the minimal roles they have with Jimmi Simpson as Rachel's friend and divorce lawyer Andy, Austin P. mcKenzie as Rachel's brother Fred, and Juliene Joyner as Fred's girlfriend Mary. The cast for Unhinged has much to do with the film managing to be a barely passable thriller instead of completely collapsing as a whole. Although they don't save the film from the lack of passion behind the project by its filmmakers, the cast makes manages to elevate the experience to the point where the film is at the very least watchable with much credit being given to Crowe's chilling performance.
Much of the films lack of enthusiasm behind telling its story is due to the serviceable, though ultimately lackluster directing of Derrick Borte in the filmmakers chair. Borte's work here is standard with nothing in particular to write home about it as it gets the job done but never does anything truly impressive nor crafty. The cinematography is fairly decent with the car chase sequences being well-shot, adding to the effectiveness of the plot. The pacing is brisk with the story remaining constantly moving while never feeling slow nor overlong for the films 90-minute running time. The films score is effective in both adding as well as driving the suspense and terror of the story, even if the music can become excessively loud at certain points. The directing for Unhinged isn't terrible nor is it great, it just falls within the category of being so-so with no real risks or impressive craftsmanship being shown. With a film like Unhinged, the story was always going to rely on solid directing and creativity in order for it to work at its maximum potential. Unfortunately, that isn't the case here as Borte's directing appears to be set to cruise control with the films peak moments being solely the car chases and Crowe's performance.
In addition to the films directing underwhelming, the screenplay written by Carl Ellsworth also fails to bring the story to its full potential despite teasing interesting themes, that carry a bit of relevance with today's society. The film aspires to be a thrilling statement centered around the topic of mental illness in America with themes pertaining to road rage, violence, retribution, and parenting dominating the script, though they never feel as if they get the full development needed in order for them to leave the appropriate impact with audiences. Not much background is given with Russell Crowe's character other than showing that he's mentally unbalanced with him proclaiming at one point in the story, that being killed in a suicide by cop fashion is perfectly fine with him. While some audiences might complain that the lack of insight into Crowe's character makes it difficult for them to care about his behavior or the reasonings behind his actions, others will appreciate the more ambiguous approach with his character being more terrifying with the audience not knowing much regarding his backstory. The characters of Rachel and Kyle are developed just enough for the audience to become invested, as well as gain empathy for them. Rachel's character is shown to struggle with being a single parent with her losing her job on the same day she encounters Crowe's character, while juggling a nasty divorce. Kyle's character is shown to be confused about both instances regarding his parents divorce, as well as why Crowe's character is pursuing them. The one area where the script works is well-establishing the main trio and giving them a solid foundation for the main actors to work off. The story surrounding them often feels as if its gasping for air at times as the the potential to explore the concept of mental illness turns into a deadly game of road rage, that feels cliched like a typical horror flick or thriller once Crowe's character enters the frame. The audience is given a very brief intro showing the dangers of his character with him murdering and blowing up someone's house at the beginning, alerting the audience to the nature of his characters behavior and mindset. The script also finds itself falling into the generic traps of a chase thriller such as the main characters being pursued, failing to use common sense such as Rachel not calling the police immediately, as well as leaving ones unsecured phone in an unlocked parked car. The side characters also lack enough development for the audience to become invested with them, ultimately making them just serve as being potential kills for Crowe's character. The main issue isn't with Unhinged's script isn't that the script lacks good ideas and themes, it's that its possessive of both but never develops them nor the story to their fullest potential with the overall effort feeling like an extreme mediocre one rather than being something, that could've been both exciting as well as thought-provoking. Unhinged's failure to dive into the issue regarding mental illness and its impact on everyday life in American culture, is a genuine disappointment in itself given the potential it had at doing such.
The biggest question that one will have during and after watching this movie is why Russell Crowe agreed to be apart of this with the film being nowhere near the caliber of his previous work. Unhinged is a film that could've been far more satisfying if more effort went into making it. The end result just ends up being nothing more than a fast-paced road rage thriller, that's good for at least one watch before becoming completely forgettable. Even Crowe's performance as good as it comes across, isn't as memorable as some of the work he's delivered throughout his incredible filmography. Unhinged feels like a film that takes a half-step towards maximizing its full potential rather than a full one. The films end scene also delivers an awkward message to fans with the character of Rachel being hesitant to honk her horn at a speeding driver, who nearly runs into her. Instead of honking her horn in frustration at the near accident, she has a moment of hesitation and ultimately chooses not to do so out of fear that she'll encounter another psychopath like Crowe's character. Such a message is misguided as her honking at Russell's character earlier in the film was justified by his reluctance to obey the green traffic signal, and she more than should've done the same for the negligent driver at the end of the film rather than hold back in fear. This mixed signal essentially represents the general problem regarding the films scriptwriting as a whole. The movie has clear themes it wants to explore and convey, but does so only half-heartedly. As both a suspenseful and engaging thriller, Unhinged serves as being only a barely passable one that's best caught on cable with the overall experience fading from memory soon after. Given the potential that the film had as well as the strength of its main star in the films leading role, the end result should be much more satisfying and thought-provoking.
Final Verdict: For Russell Crowe fans as well as those who enjoy suspenseful thrillers, Unhinged is a mildly entertaining yet forgettable road rage thriller that ultimately doesn't amount to much more than just a one-time viewing based on the strength of its main star before being immediately disgarded.
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