A psychological thriller that is both tense and stressful, Unhinged is about the darker side of the simple daily frustrations i.e. road rage and how against all odds, a trivial interaction turns into a nightmare. Russell Crowe gives an interesting performance of a crazed stranger whose unstable mood leads to a tense survival game even though the conflict was only over a traffic incident. The premise of the film takes advantage of the most primitive fears and the viewer is left wondering how a single act of anger can go so awry and become lethal so soon.
I found one thing about this film that impressed me most, i.e., how this film captures the suspense even with minimalistic and powerful narration. The interaction in traffic light is achingly familiar but as the movie soon swerves into a race through the city streets one sees how whimsical human blood lust is and how one act of disrespect can doom civilised society to anarchy. The act of making the character of Rachel both vulnerable and resilient also means that the general human being put in a situation like this has a lot on the line since the stakes of the people involved in the story also become emotionally higher. The antagonist is also very well played out by Crowe as he is chilling, attractive and much more so adds a value of menace to the tense atmosphere of this film.
Visually, Unhinged uses dirty camera and close shots to achieve an effect of claustrophobia, yet it puts the audience in the very core of the terrifying experience shared by Rachel. This movie is non-stop, its editing is harsh and the music is tensed so there is adrenaline throughout the whole film. The premise is given a fair share of leanings in familiar territory, yet the film itself is visceral and unsettling in nature, and it leaves viewers with an uneasy feeling. All in all, Unhinged is a troubling, eye-opening commentary on how tenuous the shroud of civilization can be on some days, and it induces both fears and sympathies in turns, which makes it a highly captivating film that one is unable to shake off even after the titles.
