The first major Hollywood movie to screen nationwide in theaters since March, Unhinged offers moviegoers a perilous ride back to the cineplex. In this horror-action hybrid filmed in Kenner and New Orleans, Russell Crowe portrays a road-raging madman. Identified in the movie’s credits as The Man, Crowe’s grievance-driven boogieman in a pickup self-righteously prosecutes a deadly rampage.
Rachel, a stressed-out single mother played by Caren Pistorius, ignites The Man’s fury during morning rush hour. After Rachel refuses to apologize to The Man for the alleged roadway offense, he quickly shifts from creepy stalking to remorseless mayhem. His anger accelerates into a vengefulm hunt on four wheels, one he believes is totally justified.
Make no mistake—Unhinged is a brutally violent movie that’s darkened even further by its horror-movie overtones.
Director Derrick Borte and screenwriter Carl Ellsworth focus tautly on just a few characters, principally The Man; his primary target, Rachel; and her teen-aged son, Kyle. Ellsworth, a writer who has action and horror credentials, crafted a suspenseful script that echoes his previous thrillers Red Eye and Disturbia as well as the horror flick The Last House on the Left.
Road rage being the foundation for Unhinged, much of the film is spent on streets and highways. The often-frantic driving scenes include the Crescent City Connection, Kenner’s Chateau Estates subdivision and Hayne Boulevard in New Orleans. Not to give anything away, but accidents do happen. With The Man behind the wheel, they’re not all accidental.
Unhinged gives Crowe opportunities to show more than rage. During a scene shot at Franny’s Place Family Restaurant in Kenner, Rachel’s friend and pro bono divorce lawyer, Andy, gets conned by the deceptively calm The Man. Crowe, whose performance in Gladiator earned an Academy Award, smoothly shifts his character from menacing to charming to homicidal.
Playing Andy, Jimmi Simpson makes a strong impression in the jolting Franny’s scene. Nevertheless, Gabriel Bateman’s Kyle joins Rachel and The Man as one of the film’s three principal characters. Despite being in his early teens, Kyle is the adult in the room. Sensible and steady, he cautions his mom against her reckless behavior. But Rachel does not follow her son’s advice, thereby paving the way for the ensuing carnage.
New Zealand actress Pistorius convincingly introduces Rachel as a flailing young woman who’s slacker tendences hinder her chances of having a successful life. As the story intensifies, Pistorius evolves Rachel’s state of mind from mild alarm to fear to panic to fierce and tenacious Mama Bear. Unhinged, similar to an earlier, locally filmed horror-action-suspense movie, the Halle Berry-starring Kidnap, predictably becomes a story of a mother protecting her child.
While Berry and Kidnap had their moments, Unhinged has more moments. Credit the filmmakers’ focus and an exceptional cast co-led by the Oscar-winning Crowe. That said it’s still a latter-day B-movie potboiler, though quite successful at provoking thrills, shocks and even some timely thoughts about the anger and disunion that characterize these times.
In the New Orleans area, Unhinged opens August 21 at the Prytania Theatre, AMC theaters, LaPlace Cinema 5 and Regal Covington.
