Day 128: "We're on the losing side, Helen. We're afraid, they're not."

I have seen my fair share of disturbing and uncomfortable-to-watch movies in my time.  Se7en, Das Experiment, and even the notorious A Serbian Film.  There is a new one to add to this dubious list: Unthinkable.  The story of the interrogation of an American Muslim (getting old here Hollywood) who has created and planted three nuclear devices and set them to go off in in three American cities, this is not for the squeamish.  This movie attempts to investigate the moral implications of the value of torture to save lives.  It's, at its core, asking the old Star Trek question "Does the good of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one?"  The film then, very graphically, shows the audience the different types of torture (apparently) utilized to extract information.  I cannot stress enough how graphic and disturbing some of the imagery is.  I could not decide for myself if they wanted this to be Hostel with a morality tale attached, or just a human rights drama with shock value.  Whatever it was, I couldn't look away.  I was riveted by the story, not the gore.  This was a cautionary tale for our times.

The cast in this was astounding.  Samuel L. Jackson was the lead torturer H.  He did not go his usual, over-the-top nutso route, but was very understated, cold and calculating; immensely scarier, because he was so controlled.  Carrie Anne Moss was Helen Brody, the lead FBI agent and moral foil for Jackson's amoral torturer.  The true star of this was Brit Michael Sheen as Yusef Mohammed/ Steven Younger.  His portrayal of a man tortured, both literally, and morally, was astounding. 

Unthinkable is a movie that will get you thinking and talking about it's content.  Who the villain is in this goes back and forth several times.  Yes, Younger is a terrorist bomber, and yes the American agents torture him mercilessly, but it was tough to keep straight at times that this man being torn apart for information was the bad guy.  You will see unforgivable uses of torture in this movie, and you will not be able to shake some of the images quickly, so be warned.  Worth seeing, even though the material is BRUTAL.  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!