The Unforgivable Review: Bullock Shines In Arresting, Yet Uneven Crime Drama

Netflix’s The Unforgivable models itself on the eponymous 2009 British miniseries, which centers on ex-convict Ruth Slater’s (Sandra Bullock) personal journey of longing, regret, and loss. While the premise of these two adaptations remains the same, the Netflix crime drama fails to capture the core essence of Sally Wainwright’s book, despite trying its best to unravel a murder mystery rife with pathos and twist reveals. Helmed by a brilliant Bullock, The Unforgivable is a flawed retelling of a profound story, limited by plot contrivances and an unconvincing execution.

The Unforgivable opens with golden-hued flashback shots of an incident that led to a 20-year imprisonment for Ruth. Now out of prison, she’s struggling to reintegrate herself into mainstream society. Her no-nonsense parole officer, Vincent Cross (Rob Morgan), lays out the rules she needs to follow in order to avoid jail time again, which include not reaching out to the victim’s family or associating with another ex-convict. Ruth, hardened and seemingly remorseless, agrees to these terms and goes on to spend her days struggling to maintain two jobs in order to make ends meet. While the first half of the film grants the audience no reason to empathize with Ruth, as she unjustifiably killed a sheriff 20 years ago, the repeated flashbacks of the incident clearly point towards  there being more to the story than meets the eye.

The central conflict in the film stems from Ruth’s desire to reconnect with her little sister Katherine (Aisling Franciosi), who was with her during the incident and was put up for adoption after she was arrested. Katherine, on the other hand, still experiences nightmares about parts of the incident but has no memory of Ruth or her childhood, completely unaware of her existence. After undergoing a car accident, Katherine’s flashbacks become more vivid, worrying her adoptive parents as they do not want her to associate with someone who is a murderer. In a completely separate, and albeit unconvincing subplot, the sons of the murdered sheriff, Keith and Steve Whelan, plot revenge due to Ruth’s early release based on good behavior, creating a web of narrative entanglements that could have been done without in favor of a more coherent, solid storyline.

Viola Davis also stars as Liz Ingram in The Unforgivable, the wife of defense lawyer John Ingram (Vincent D’Onofrio), who takes up Ruth’s case, helping her contact Katherine’s parents and arrange a meeting. Davis’ character is massively underused, and the scene in which Ruth and Liz have a tense confrontation held the massive potential to uplift the film but is prematurely cut short without allowing it some space to breathe. Bullock brings Ruth to life with great nuance, doing her absolute best to play a woman unforgiven by society at every turn, constantly reminded that she will always be perceived as a cop killer no matter where she goes. The twist ending loses some of its meaning due to pacing issues but manages to add to Bullock’s understated performance, whose inner struggle is accentuated in hindsight.

Although riddled with execution flaws, The Unforgivable has the ability to keep the audiences hooked, despite its consistently bleak storyline. Jon Bernthal’s Blake offers a breath of fresh air as a supporting character, but that is also handled in an unsatisfactory manner in the end. However, the core of the tale, the relationship between Ruth and Katherine, and the former’s longing to reconnect with the latter keeps the film grounded in more ways than one. The Unforgivable ends on a comparatively positive and redemptive note, making the uneven journey worth the ride from an emotional standpoint, even if the plot flounders often in terms of coherence and suspension of disbelief.

The Unforgivable premiered on Netflix on December 10, 2021. The film is 112 minutes long and remains unrated as of now.

About The Author

Debopriyaa Dutta
(328 Articles Published)

Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

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