Unhinged

There are quite a few Hollywood blockbusters headed to the big screen in the next few weeks (I, for one, cannot wait for Tenet to come to theaters).  The first of these is Unhinged and I had the chance to see it last night.  In any other year this would be just another late summer action thriller for fans of the genre to enjoy on a Saturday night with a big tub of popcorn.  But, let's face it, this year is anything but ordinary and many more discerning fans, who have been eagerly anticipating a return to the theater, are going to flock to this movie (my screening was packed) because it's the only game in town.  They might be disappointed.  Having said that, I actually enjoyed it because I occasionally like seeing action thrillers on a Saturday night with a big tub of popcorn.  Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is having a really rough morning.  She has overslept and is, therefore, late getting her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school.  She is going through an acrimonious divorce and is struggling to care for her elderly mother and her ne'er-do-well younger brother Fred (Austin P. McKenzie).  Her best client has just fired her for being late when she gets stuck in rush hour traffic.  When a man (Russell Crowe) in a pickup truck in front of her doesn't move when the light turns green, she leans on her horn to express her displeasure.  He takes great exception to this and demands an apology.  When one is not forthcoming, he begins to systematically terrorize her as well as her friends and family.  There is not a lot of exposition but it is implied that the man has also gone through a difficult divorce and that he was injured while on the job at an auto plant only to be fired just before he was eligible for a pension.  I get the impression that the filmmakers want us to feel sympathy for him because the despair in the world today is just too much for us to bear and raging against it is the only acceptable response (this is especially apparent in the montage of chaos during the opening credits) but the character works much better when viewed as a psychopath.  Crowe gives an incredibly menacing performance and there are moments that are truly terrifying, especially a grisly scene in a coffee shop.  The action sequences are relentless (you wouldn't think that a car chase between a station wagon and a mini-van could be so thrilling but it is) and the final resolution is absolutely wild!  As previously mentioned, fans of the genre will have a lot of fun with this but more discriminating fans might want to wait for Tenet in a few weeks!