The Unforgivable takes a cold, hard look at life after prison. The story gets more sensational than necessary, but the hardships of reformed felons remain loud and clear. Sandra Bullock is slightly one-note, but she convincingly displays immense pain buried beneath bottled anger. Bullock embodies tension and misery as she pieces together the scraps of her life. Her housing is chaotic, her job is demoralizing, and her personal life is isolated. Bullock's climb is where The Unforgivable thrives because it's eye-opening and inspirational. Viewers can't resist feeling sympathy for those crushed by the system, and moved by Bullock's rise.
The filmmaking adds to this emotional connection with moody music, cold cinematography, calculated editing, and vivid sound. These aspects really ground the experience and allow buy-in for the more dramatic story elements. Overall, the direction has a stoic style that elevates the material in the best ways. This movie could've very easily come off like a soap opera that focused on its heightened thrills, but instead, it focuses on relatable emotions and is much more respectable. Therefore, The Unforgivable definitely has its flaws, but because it chooses to dig deeper, it lands as something fairly thoughtful.
Writing: 7/10
Direction: 8/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Acting: 8/10
Editing: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 8/10
Production Design: 7/10
Casting: 7/10
Effects: 6/10
Overall Score: 7.5/10
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