When major theaters reopened in August of 2020, Pandemic-weary attendees were greeted with a movie that lived up to its title. The first wide release, since theaters shuttered en masse back in March, was Derrick Borte’s Unhinged. The Russell Crowe-starring movie didn’t make a big splash at first, but that following weekend, the numbers soared as it expanded to more screens. In addition to the positive word of mouth was an ad campaign that raised some eyebrows. This sort of self-promotion can be best described as aggressive, which only seems fitting for a movie about a road-raging murderer.
It wasn’t that long ago when the act of reopening theaters during the Pandemic was controversial. Then there was the fact that a movie was encouraging your in-person attendance, despite the continuing urge for quarantining and distancing. Ads for Unhinged included slogans like “I Saw Unhinged At a F*!#king Theater!” and pull-quotes like “A Reason to Return to Theaters.” Suffice it to say, a lot of folks saw the marketing as flippant. And it wasn’t as if Unhinged pressed the brakes as time went on; a new ad made in time for the movie’s VOD release stated: “They Said Halloween Was Canceled; We Say It’s Unhinged.”
As off-putting and insensitive as Unhinged’s publicity strategies might have come across, the movie delivers as promised and then some. Borte and writer Carl Ellsworth (Red Eye, The Last House on the Left) turned in a bona fide pulse-pounder that would have been far less enjoyable without its headliner. The kudos for Crowe as the embittered ex turned spree killer, Tom Cooper, is well deserved. His presence enhances the movie and gives it its sense of identity, warts and all.
Image: Two ads for Unhinged; one says “I saw Unhinged at a f*!#king theater!” and the other says “They said Halloween was canceled; we say it’s Unhinged.”
For newcomers, there’s really not much to spoil about Unhinged. Mere seconds into the movie, you should have a clear idea of what’s in store and how things are going to go. The cold open alone has Crowe’s hopped-up, gas can-carrying character killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend, before finally setting their home ablaze and driving off with the ensuing explosion in his rearview mirror. Then in case you haven’t quite caught on to the movie’s theme of bottled-up and misplaced anger, here comes a supercut of clips demonstrating real-life road rage and public outbursts.
The outset seeks to put viewers on edge and keep them that way, although there is that brief cool-down period—one of only a few—where Unhinged introduces Tom’s next victim. Caren Pistorius plays Rachel Flynn, a divorcing, down-on-her-luck mother who’s about to have the worst day of her life. As she struggles to get her young son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman, Child’s Play) to school on the day in question, Rachel honks off the wrong driver. In fact, it’s her hostile honking that pushes Tom over the edge. In a bit of an unlikely moment between motorists, Crowe’s pickup truck-driving character pulls up to his prospective target in traffic, then goes on to explain road etiquette to both Rachel and her son. “I don’t even get a courtesy tap first?” is just a taste of Tom’s supply of ridiculous dialogue.
Another movie might have set itself on cruise control when crafting the victim-aggressor dynamic. By that I mean the victim would have been made faultless in the storm of violence about to rain down on her and everyone she knows. Instead, though, Unhinged offers up Rachel, someone whose own mildly entitled, irresponsible and impulsive behavior doesn’t go unnoticed or unanswered. Of course Tom’s response is undue and awful, and if not Rachel, then he probably would have made another random person the recipient of his fury. However, this movie doesn’t mind flawing its protagonist, so as to set up the conflict as well as challenge the audience’s perception.
Image: Russell Crowe in Unhinged.
We don’t get these kinds of movies as much as we used to, which seems odd in an era where driving feels more dangerous than ever. Nevertheless, this road-set thriller is a welcome throwback to the likes of Duel and The Hitcher. Those particular influences surface as Rachel races around in broad daylight and no one, including the feckless police, can stop her pursuer. There may be gripes about the notion of a man who can do all this damage within a big urban jungle and remain uncatchable for so long, yet that aspect can surely be overlooked when you realize Unhinged isn’t aiming for realism, regardless of the relevant and topical pitch involved. The movie indeed asks, what happens when people snap in increasingly turbulent times and or succumb to the pressures of their own affected existences? The answer to its own question, though, is one paved with nightmarish absurdity.
The casting of Russell Crowe as Tom was inspired, and I have no notes for his performance. Crowe steals every scene of his, and like his character states towards the movie’s end, you’re always gonna see him. He’s just that good here. Naturally, however, you can’t have a character like Tom appear on screen nowadays, do what he does, and not be reminded of what he looks to be and stands for, even if that wasn’t the creators’ intention. To some that thorny quality, along with the aforementioned advertising choices, strikes a nerve and makes Unhinged inaccessible. More so if you’ve been very online these past ten years and can’t stomach a man like Tom.
Unhinged ultimately lets the action, stunts and shock-button jolts do most of its talking, as opposed to telling you anything of note about the characters. The blanks get filled in somewhat as the chase furthers, and that’s enough for those of us simply wanting a high-energy and cash-in-hand kind of thriller. Admittedly, the movie’s timing wasn’t great; the pent-up anger it plays on wasn’t for everyone. Maybe if Unhinged had been released years earlier, then perhaps it could be revisited without bringing up emotions that people don’t want to feel, or in many cases, feel again.
Image: A poster for Unhinged.
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