Unhinged (2020)

Director: Derrick Borte

Starring: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman

After a confrontation with an unstable man at an intersection, a woman becomes the target of his rage.

Sooner or later we all have a bad day in the traffic. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is about to have a very bad day!

While ‘Unhinged’ takes road rage to the extreme, you have to understand the antagonist – simply known as Man (Russell Crowe) – is a sociopath. Not much is being said about Man, but the title summarizes him. From the opening scene, we can safely assume his wife left him for another man. Already from this opening scene, we gather he suffers from psychopathic tendencies.

When Rachel hoots irritably behind Man when he remains stationary after the light turned green, this triggers him again, and he pursues her – first to get an apology. When she doesn’t apologize, he warns her she is about to find out what a bad day really is.

What follows, is a series of nerve-wrecking events. It’s not plausible and probably too extreme a depiction of road rage, but it was rather nail-biting to watch. The film’s unpredictability is what makes it work, and a good performance by Russell Crowe. I couldn’t help but wonder to what extreme Man would go next, and how Rachel would react.

‘Unhinged’ won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Some will hate it, some will enjoy it for the suspense and loads of action. Although it had issues, I enjoyed it.

Would I watch it again? I believe so, yes.