Advertising
Supported by
Russell Crowe meets and shrinks to play a misogynist assassin in Derrick Borte’s fury-thrust thriller.
By Jeannette Catsoulis
When you purchase a price ticket for a qualifying movie independently on our website, we earn an associate fee.
It’s been a while since I noticed that humans were sacrificed the way nature wanted: on a big screen. So, to inspire those who are brave enough to stick to the first major premiere after locking themselves in a genuine theater, Solstice Studios presents “Unhinged”, a psychotropic story that will leave you as despondent as its victims.
Leading the way is a super-verified Russell Crowe as a bubbly mass, credited as a man. When we meet him, he removes the wedding ring, grabs a punch and kills his ex-wife and new spouse before cremating his house. So, not a friendly divorce.
Continuing the subject of marital discord, Carl Ellsworth’s monotonous and brutal script features Rachel (Caren Pistorius), a concerned single mother who juggles an independent brother and an embarrassing, separated husband. Late for the school depot of her son, Rachel recklessly irritates the driving force of a van (Crowe) when it does not respond to a green light. She’s about to repent.
Playing a misogynistic killer and opioid in a greasy gender symbol is a curious gesture for an actor of Crowe’s reputation, but it’s still nothing to play. With his face locked in a sweaty grimace, his menacing mass pressed the guide wheels and dining room tables, Crowe is as serious as the central attack that his character threatens to have a minute. But while Derrick Borte’s cinema is frankly effective, and the car cascade works impressively, the character is a reassembling toy, a stupid, filthy symbol of male grudge.
Don’t be fooled by the film’s scant references to a culture of anger and declining civility: “Unhinged” is as serious a social critique as the kind of his reason.
Detached R-rated for death through knife, hammer, fireplace and van. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Opening in cinemas.
Advertising