Unthinkable (2010)

A psychological thriller centered around a black-ops interrogator and an F.B.I. Agent who press a suspect terrorist into divulging the location of three nuclear weapons set to detonate in the U.S.

Director:

Gregor Jordan

Writer:

Peter Woodward

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Henry Harold 'H' Humphries
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Agent Helen Brody
Michael Sheen	...	Steven Arthur Younger
Stephen Root	...	Charles Thompson
Lora Kojovic	...	Rina Humphries
Martin Donovan	...	Assistant Director Jack Saunders
Gil Bellows	...	Agent Vincent
Vincent Laresca	...	Agent Leandro
Brandon Routh	...	Agent D.J. Jackson
Joshua Harto	...	Agent Phillips
Holmes Osborne	...	General Paulson
Michael Rose	...	Colonel Kerkmejian
Randy Oglesby	...	Mr. Bradley
Benito Martinez	...	Alvarez
Sasha Roiz	...	Interrogator Lubitchich

Storyline

A convert to Islam sends the U.S. government a tape showing him in three nondescript storage rooms, each of which may contain a nuclear bomb set to detonate in less than a week. Helen Brody, an FBI agent in L.A., is tasked with finding the bombs while a CIA "consultant," known as H, interrogates the suspect who has allowed himself to be caught. The suspect, whose wife and children have left him and disappeared, seems to know exactly what the interrogation will entail. Even as H ratchets up the pressure, using torture over Brody's objection, the suspect doesn't crack. Should H do the unthinkable, and will Brody acquiesce? Is any Constitutional principle worth possible loss of life?

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Plot Keywords:

torture | interrogation | muslim | electric shock | torture device | 

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Taglines:

Right and Wrong no longer exist

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, torture and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Ukrainian

Release Date:

26 May 2010 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

El día del juicio final

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lleju Productions, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Kimmel International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

Every time 'H' open the bottle to pop his pills, the bottle is always still full.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steven Arthur Younger: [into video camera] My name is Steven Arthur Younger. I am an American citizen.

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Alternate Versions

Extended version features an alternate ending where a team of FBI agents approach one of the bombs in a building. An FBI agent disarms the bomb, the team celebrates, and the camera pans to another bomb that's hidden. The bomb counts down to the time of its detonation and the film ends.

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Connections

References Saw (2004)

User Reviews

Powerhouse

Blistering and stark, an apparently black and white scenario that seems to leave no room for dispute and debate whiles away at your morals and resolve just slightly quicker than it does the characters on screen. At every moment that you feel something gratuitous or obscene is happening, an instant after you make the judgment, a knot forms and you are made to question and relent. Very little room is left for debate, you don't ponder and question much because all sides are represented on screen. You are fired straight into the dilemma that faces the characters in real time, this film monsters you through the process and assists your own thought process as fast as you can possibly handle it. No space is left to diverge from the ride, to question, to disagree, to shout at the movie in disgust. It shouts at itself, deliberates vigorously and slams you side to side in your seat harder than any ride this side of a theme park.

What you are left with are precious little moments of pause after you realize what the movie has revealed about yourself, what unthinkable things lie just beneath in your own mind.

This is a powerhouse of a thriller that, when through, has exposed the underworld within yourself to you, and leaves you to project the implications of that knowledge onto the broader world.