As a clinical counsellor working in the treatment area of relationship violence, I found John Ritter's portrayal of a man coming to terms with his own violent behaviour to be astonishingly realistic. Ritter manages to play the real life character in Unforgivable with a depth that reaches past a surface presentation of the overt behaviour of the individual he plays. Ritter, his co-stars and the filmmakers have achieved this masterful work by richly exploring the character's thoughts, feelings and learned behaviours that ultimately manifest in his abusive personality. Themes such as cycles of abuse perpetuating through family systems and the discovery of empowerment to change through overcoming denial and accepting accountability are also well presented in the film. Unforgivable can actually make for more than quality entertainment for general audiences, as its story telling, realistic outcome, and the quality of its performances bode well as education for audiences genuinely concerned with changing their own abusive behaviours.
Review of Unforgivable
