Unhinged (2020)

With a talented writer and director having fun with their material, Unhinged would have been a decent enough thriller for film fans to enjoy easily enough. The addition of Russell Crowe in the lead role, giving a performance as gleefully psychotic as any I can think of, makes it even better, turning it into something that feels surprisingly unmissable for this particular subgenre.

Essentially, this is a “*insert noun* from hell” movie. Crowe plays a character who is having such a bad time, apparently, that his only solution is to kill some people. And with that killing done, he is sitting in traffic, and zones out while a traffic light turns to green, when he is given a horn honk from Rachel (Caren Pistorius). Rachel is late, a bit stressed, and also has her son, Kyle (Gabriel Bateman), in the car with her. Thinking that she is having a bad day, the man she upset with her horn honking becomes determined to show her just how bad her day can get.

Director Derrick Borte has an interesting filmography that includes Cat Run (very enjoyable stuff) and The Joneses (excellent). He doesn’t seem drawn to any one genre, but rather seems to simply react to material he thinks he can treat well. Carl Ellsworth, on the other hand, definitely feels comfortable writing thrillers, having also worked on the excellent Disturbia, Red Eye, and the remake of The Last House On The Left. Ellsworth knows how to make the most of a cracking concept, and both he and Borte do superb work here. Because the unique aspect to this movie is the fact that Crowe’s character gives absolutely zero shits. He doesn’t care who seems him acting like a psycho, and doesn’t care who else he has to hurt by his one-man tsunami of violence and pain.

Crowe is more than up to the task when it comes to being intimidating, vicious, and also playing things in a way that feels very darkly comedic. Pistorius is a solid lead, starting off bewildered by the sharp turn of events before accepting the madness and digging deep to find extra reserves of strength. Bateman is a decent child actor, there’s a great little scene for Jimmi Simpson that underlines just how dangerous Crowe’s character is, and Austin P. McKenzie, Juliene Joyner, and others do a good job portraying likeable individuals who could very easily become unable to continue breathing due to the actions of one madman.

If this had gone along the same lines of many other films we have seen like it then Unhinged would not be as memorable as it is. It goes from zero to one hundred within the first few scenes, and that makes it a memorable viewing experience. It allows the film to feel different from others in this subgenre, despite heading to the same third act. And I like to think that some candy cane scissors owned by the lead character were a nice nod to another superb thriller about a vicious psycho behind the wheel of a big engine. 

Highly recommended. In fact, you will be mad at yourself if you dismiss it as something not worth your time. And the fact that it's a nice and well-paced 90 minutes (something becoming increasingly rare nowadays) is another reason to recommend it.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Gloria Bell (2018)

Based on the original movie by director Sebastián Lelio, who also co-wrote it with Gonzalo Mazo, this remake has Lelio helming once again, the screenplay adapted by Alice Johnson Boher, and a cast that includes Julianne Moore, John Turturro, and many more. Having not seen the original, I cannot speak about how this compares to it. I can simply comment on the movie itself, and my comments aren't really overflowing with praise.

Moore plays Gloria, an older woman who enjoys spending some time in clubs and perhaps finding a new lover. She ends up meeting Arnold (Turturro), a man in a similar situation to herself. He is also a divorcee, and has two grown-up children (Gloria has a son and a daughter, Arnold has two daughters), and he claims to be in love with Gloria. Unfortunately, strain develops between the two when it becomes clear that Arnold is often too preoccupied with his daughters, either answering phone calls or disappearing to help them.

The above paragraph is a very basic summary of Gloria Bell, and there's a bit more to this character study than just what I have written there, of course, but not really that much more. In fact, take away the lead performances and this film becomes so lightweight that it's almost ethereal (and not in a good way).

Lelio directs competently enough, and the screenplay takes time to simply show a woman getting to grips with a certain period of her life, but it never really does a good enough job of making the interesting points it could make. Hmmmm, a central character may end up realising that loving oneself and/or life is a better route to happiness than trying to fall in love with someone else? There's something staggeringly original and daring. I really shouldn't lower myself to just delivering sarcastic comments, it's just difficult when a film like this comes along and seems to be viewed as saying something worthwhile. It's not. There's a small twist on the material with the age and situation of the lead character, yes, but when you see how she goes about her day you soon realise that not enough is done to make her anything more than a tool for the final obvious point that Lelio wants to hammer home. Gloria has a problematic neighbour, who is also the son of the landlady. Anyone could be in that situation. She has an ex who now has a new partner. Anyone could be in that situation. She has two children, which is where you think the material starts to feel more relevant to this specific character, but there's very little done with them that couldn't have been done if these central characters were siblings, for example, or close friends. And I understand that I could probably make this argument with many movies. It just stands out here because of the way everything seems underdeveloped. This is a film built around a couple of fun sequences, both set to enjoyable music choices, but without anything in between those moments to reward the patience of viewers.

Moore is as wonderful as ever in the main role, and she deserves better material to work with (although I can see why she would be drawn to this, considering the highlights and the fact that it allows her to be in almost every scene, which doesn't happen enough for such a great actress). Turturro is also as good as he usually is, portraying a different riff on the kind of character we have seen him play quite often throughout his career. The supporting cast includes Caren Pistorius, Michael Cera, Brad Garrett, Holland Taylor, and, the person I was most pleasantly surprised to see, Jeanne Tripplehorn (who deserves more roles in things I may see, cannot recall the last time I saw her in a major release). Everyone does good work, even if they are underserved by a script that is rightly more concerned with things as they are viewed and experienced by Gloria.

Although not a terrible film, I cannot think of many people who will come away from Gloria Bell thinking that their day was better for having watched it. Moore fans will get enjoyment from it, but I am hoping that whatever her next lead role is will also give her a better movie to match her considerable talent. Because this was a disappointment.

4/10

The movie can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.