What is the value of one man's life when ten million lives wait in the balance? And what if that one man is the source of jeopardy for the rest? To what extent would you go to save millions of innocent people, and quite possibly, our way of life? These are the question the Unthinkable poses.
Steven Arthur Younger (Michael Sheen) was trained by our own military before his conversion to Islam. Younger has planted three (or is it four?) nuclear devices in urban locations throughout the United States. FBI Agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Ann Moss) has been assigned the criminal investigation of Younger. However, the military has taken control of this investigation.
When Agent Brody arrives at a secret location to begin interviewing Younger, she discovers he has not been "Mirandized." What's more, she has discovered that Posse Comitatus has been suspended for this investigation, which is being headed by General Paulson (Holmes Osborne). She also discovers that CIA Agent Charlie Thompson (Stephen Root) is pulling the strings. The "strings" come in the form of a special interrogator known simply as "H" (Samuel L. Jackson).
The situation calls for drastic measures. There are several bombs set to go off in less than three days. Younger knows where they are. To avoid a major catastrophe that could destroy the United States, H has been given free reign to conduct torture to get the information. This isn't water-boarding (which our own specialists are exposed to). This torture is finger-chopping, electrocuting and fingernail removing Barbarianism. So the stage is set to ask the question...how far would you go?
Gregor Jordan and Writer Peter Woodward could easily have made this film a political lightning rod. But they didn't. Rather than drawing clear lines of delineation, we explore the moral equivalence employed in a dire situation. You get to draw your own conclusions. Woodward creates decent characters (a bit cartoonish at times) and amazing intensity. What I liked most about the writing is that the story sets up an ultimate question of how far is too far in a showdown between Brody and H. They never explore whether right decision was made, leaving it to the audience to form their own conclusions. A nice balance and enough meat to make you ponder the reality.
Samuel L. Jackson has grown a little flat to me. His performance was good, but he always seems ticked off to me. I like his imbalance better in films like Black Snake Moan. This performance felt more like Snakes On A Plane. Screaming with a peculiar cadence gets old after a while. He was good, but not exceptional in this role. Moss didn't fully convince me either. The story was decent, but the performances seemed off for some reason. It hurt the credibility of the film for me.
Unthinkable easily earned an R Rating. The violence was intensified because it comes in the form of torture. While the gore factor is not excessive, the context makes it very disturbing. The film also had strong language. Because of the intensity of this film, I would advise against pre-teen audiences. The film is likely to raise many questions that will be difficult enough for adults to answer for themselves.
Unthinkable starts with an interesting premise. It avoids getting preachy, opting to create a set of questions and leave the ultimate question unanswered. Some of the characters are more caricature than character, but that did not hurt the credibility as much as the casting. I wasn't thrilled with the choices, even though I like the actors. The fit did not feel right to me. It may have been more intense with greater credibility with better casting. A rainy day rental. 6.5/10.
Photos and trailer property of Lleju Productions.