Weekend Film Recommendation: Unthinkable (2010)

Unthinkable is a psychological thriller done with great care and sensitivity because it is not sensitive regarding the issue it centralizes its plot around.  Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) is Steven Arthur Younger, a terrorist suspect who presumably has placed three nuclear weapons somewhere within the U.S. and plans to detonate them.  Having been captured by a group of federal agents, led by Agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss), they attempt to extract the whereabouts of the nuclear weapons from Younger.  Because of the immediate and astronomical threat these weapons pose to the security and safety of the United States, the agents resort to drastic measures including bringing in an interrogation specialist (Samuel L. Jackson). 

Because of the nature of the subject matter of this movie, it is no surprise that Unthinkable is a very polarizing movie for its viewers; however, I think this is what makes the film so wonderful to watch.  Unthinkable holds nothing back in terms of its depiction of the extremely questionable interrogation techniques it portrays, and it requires the viewer to question their beliefs on the subject no matter what they are.  As an audience member, you become very conflicted watching this movie, and your sense of right and wrong is often times shocked into uncertainty.  This movie forces us to examine the sensitive and highly publicized topic of torture and interrogation of suspected terrorists and it is because of this (and also some of the violent images) that it was released straight to DVD (unfortunately).

It is a shame that this movie was not theatrically released and not as critically noticed as it should have been; in fact if you search for this movie on rottentomatoes.com you’ll find there is not a single critic rating, almost as if this movie didn’t exist.  I have to commend Samuel L. Jackson for his performance and for taking on this role, he played this nefarious and zealous role very well.  I’d have to say this is the strongest serious performance from Jackson that I’ve seen in a long time, reminding me of his performances in movies that I love such as 187, and Unbreakable.  However, Michael Sheen’s performance steals this movie, and with a proper release and acknowledgement could have garnered an Oscar nomination.

Hello? Is it ethical to use a mother f***ing snake to torture a man?

Unthinkable is not the type of movie to watch without devoting it your full attention, a willingness to reflect, and at times a strong stomach.  Check out the trailer below and keep checking back for more weekend film recommendations.