Common Sense Observations

Movie review of Unthinkable

DAMIEN’S RATING of Unthinkable: 9 – Go and see this movie – you’ll be glad you did. It’s definitely worth the price of admission. It will make it into to many DVD collections.

See the complete movie rating system here.

Unthinkable reviewed in 25 words or less: A well written, well acted and well directed thriller with a timely, heavily debated, complex issue at its root.

FULL REVIEW of Unthinkable

I’m not much of a fan when it comes to the thriller genre. I think it’s because so many of the filming techniques call for dark sets and long intervals to build suspense and tension. But that is not at all the case in Unthinkable.

Warning and small spoiler: Unthinkable centers around the torture of a prisoner who says that he has placed four nuclear bombs in four cities – all of which will go off in less than 48 hours. The torture scenes are quite graphic and extreme. Mind you, the scenes are not of the typical gore or gratuitous violence variety, but rather necessary elements to the story and underlying concept of this movie.

While Unthinkable is absolutely a great movie, it also presents the viewer with the inescapable sides of the current arguments about torturing prisoners. When is it okay? How much torture is okay? If we torture a prisoner, do we not lower ourselves to their level? And so forth…

All of the actors in Unthinkable did a fine job, but two of them truly stand out. Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen were outstanding – and I’ll have to say that between those two, Michael Sheen wins the best actor award on my list. Jackson plays the interrogator and Sheen plays the prisoner.

One of the things I really liked about Unthinkable is its unpredictability. About 20 minutes into the movie you come to realize that whatever you think is about to happen – is not. Likewise, when you think nothing is about to happen, all hell breaks loose. Take all your refreshments into the theatre with you – you won’t want to leave this movie once it starts!

Unthinkable stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Brandon Routh and Carrie-Anne Moss. Unthinkable was directed by Gregor Jordan.

I’d like to take a moment and again commend Michael Sheen on another stellar performance. This is one great character actor – to be sure! You may well know him, but not recognize the name. He is Lucian in the underworld franchise and David Frost in Frost/Nixon – to name only two of his credits. He is also the prim and proper English boyfriend of Liz Lemmon in TV’s 30 Rock. As one can quickly see, he is a true chameleon while playing his roles. His performance in Unthinkable will surely get him a nomination this year. This guy plays a tortured prisoner so very well that it’s hard to describe it. I mean really, what could a script do for this guy who must only show agony – over and over – and try to keep the audience in empathy. Well, he does it – and does it perfectly. The guy is absolutely amazing in this movie. I really hope to see a lot more of Michael Sheen over the coming years. He is a gifted, and obviously committed, actor. If you’d like a glimpse of his range, watch Unthinkable and then watch him in 30 Rock.

Go and see Unthinkable if you can. But be ready to leave the theater with questions about your views on torture – no matter what your views were when you entered the theater.