Unthinkable

Released: 14th June 2010

Directed By: Gregor Jordan

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Carrie-Anne Moss

Certificate: 18

This film might be relatively unheard of to most people, after being released in US Cinemas for a short while, it skipped most UK cinema chains with what will be an almost straight to DVD release in September.

Directed by Gregor Jordan, most noted for directing Buffalo Soldiers and Ned Kelly, the film centres around the interrogation of a terror suspect, believed to know the whereabouts of three nuclear bombs throughout the US.

Starring Samuel L Jackson, Carrie-Anne  Moss and Michael Sheen. The film takes a relatively new approach to psychological thrillers. It could be described as Saw meeting The Negotiator but with less ‘I want to play a game’ more ‘Break the rules of the game’.

Samuel L Jackson plays ‘H’ the interrogator in charge of gathering the information from the suspect as to the whereabouts of the bombs, using his own unorthodox methods to gain what he wants. Moss plays  FBI Agent  Brody, in charge of overseeing the interrogation and location operation.

The film’s centrepiece is how it asks the question to viewers ‘How far would you go to protect thousands of lives?’ and it goes about it in a by-no-means subtle way. Witnessing the gruesome torture scenes will cause a few squirmy moments. This, however is why the film must be applauded. The idea of genuine terror threat worldwide is still a touchy subject for movie makers. Unthinkable handles it well, using an American as the main terror suspect allows for a less offensive approach to the subject which could have caused a significant amount of controversy if carried out differently.

Jackson is his usual cool self, adding some nice lines to the film and his character’s conflict with that of Moss’ gives the film some good depth which could have been lost had it focused more on the gore-factor.

I am disappointed Unthinkable didn’t enjoy a wider release as it handles its controversial topic brilliantly and does cause you to sit back and question your own morals. Would you sacrifice One person to save more? Could you sacrifice someone else’s life…?