With a veteran cast behind it and an interesting premise, "The Unforgivable" had all the makings to be a memorable and powerful experience. But admittedly, this film just falls short under its own weight. Even at almost two hours long, its story needed more time to fully set in. And at the end of the day, it truly was unforgivable how it wasted its potential to be great.
After accidentally killing a sheriff, Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock) is imprisoned for two decades. Released for good behavior, Ruth is still hounded by her past actions even though she has served her due time - from cops who still see her as a cop killer, to being judged by people around her as an ex-convict, and the shocking reality that she hasn't heard from her little sister ever since she was incarcerated. How can Ruth find forgiveness in a world that does not want to give it at all?
We didn't know that "The Unforgivable" was based on a British mini-series until the credits rolled but finding out this fact made the experience make sense. Throughout the film's running time, we won't deny that it had a lot of dramatic highs and scenes that will easily shock its audience, but the in-betweens felt like they were moving just too fast to really develop any deep context to what was happening on-screen. Suddenly, Ruth has a relationship with a co-worker, finds a lawyer, moves out and has a new job, is able to track down her missing sister - all in the backdrop that being an ex-convict should have crippled her options in the first place. If we could sum it up, anything that the film will eventually throw at its audience didn't feel like it was earned and it was thrown as a curveball for the sake of having a curveball. Outside its rushed narrative, the film was actually great. Center of this was Sandra Bullock as Ruth Slater. Her stoic but quiet agression was something we didn't expect and it certainly came off as authentic. You also have to watch out for the showdown between her and Viola Davis. Overll though, "The Unforgivable" could have been better with more time. This should have been a mini-series like its British brethren rather than a film in our opinion.
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