David O'ConnellUnthinkable
August 30th 2011 04:05
Australian director Gregor Jordan’s latest American foray finds him leading a psychological warfare case study as a terrorist holds the world (i.e. America) to ransom. Peter Woodward‘s clever screenplay has attracted a decent cast, led by the always impressive Michael Sheen who, in burying himself beneath the persona of an American-turned-Muslim-extrem ist, leaves behind no identifiable trace of his natural Britishness.
The drama begins when FBI agent Helen Brody (Carrie-Anne Moss) is asked to lead investigations into the whereabouts of a man, Steven Arthur Younger (Sheen), proclaiming to have set timers on three bombs positioned somewhere in three American cities. Before the information-sifting has even begun, a series of arrests sees a shady interrogator in witness protection, Henry ‘H’ Humphries (Samuel L. Jackson), unwittingly dragged into the investigators' web.
Though in custody, H’s past skills are soon to be forcefully deployed. To a select few it’s revealed that Younger has already been nabbed and is in custody. Excluding the public from knowledge of this fact, the suits in charge willingly consent to ‘H’ doing what he does best: taking interrogation to physical extremes that cut across normally acceptable boundaries. Brody becomes a reluctant participant through her presence alone and as time runs out, with the detonators set to go off within a few days, the moral conundrums increase in scope, the ramifications of every decision magnified.
Jordan, who created such a splash in his homeland with his debut Two Hands (1999), has made a good fist of generating tension from the compelling and topical subject matter at hand. Though constructed upon a solid foundation of thriller elements, Unthinkable manages to contort itself in interesting ways.
Sheen is never less than brilliant, cementing his chameleon status here as the potential terrorist whose true motivations are cloaked in ambiguity. Jackson is an appropriately grim antagonist; 'H' is terrifyingly convincing at times, combining persuasive doses of menace and humanistic disquiet in his equally ambiguous portrayal.
The measures 'H' adopts to break down Younger become genuinely confronting, ensuring the film’s moral compass is constantly in motion. On what side do we fall – that of the prisoner who may be responsible for incalculable deaths if he’s to be believed? Or the torturers who will stretch ethical boundaries to breaking point in their efforts to extract ‘the truth’.
Considering some of the garbage that seeps into our cinemas these days, it’s a bit surprising that Unthinkable (2010) was designated for a straight to DVD release only. The film will no doubt push buttons in blurring the boundaries of where our concepts of right and wrong begin and end. But beyond the occasional absurdity it will at least inspire discussion whilst entertaining on a very basic level.
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