In 2018, Sandra Bullock starred in the Netflix thriller Bird Box, which took the world by storm. The film soon became the platform’s most-watched film and it would remain that way until Red Notice premiered on the streaming service. In addition to Bullock, the film starred Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver, BD Wong, Lil Rel Howery, Danielle Macdonald, John Malkovich, and several others.
Despite Bird Box’s record-shattering accolades, the film wasn’t ruled a unanimous hit with critics. Bullock starred in another Netflix film in 2021 that evoked a similar response from critics. The Unforgivable put Bullock in another grim story where she is haunted by memories that are slowly revealed over the course of the film. Even though both films were deemed relatively underwhelming by critics, Bullock and several other cast members’ performances in The Unforgivable make it the better film.
The Unforgivable follows Ruth (Bullock) after she is released from prison after serving a twenty-year sentence for murdering a sheriff. At the time of Ruth’s release, her younger sister, Katie (Aisling Franciosi) gets into a car accident that forces her to move back in with her adoptive parents and sister. Katie has no recollection of Ruth and instead, is haunted by traumatic glimpses of her childhood. Ruth slowly works to acclimate herself back into society with the help of her parole officer Vincent Cross (Rob Morgan). As expected, Ruth runs into a number of setbacks from those who dislike and distrust her because of her convicted crimes.
Ruth does gain a few allies, most notably in corporate lawyer John Ingram (Vincent D’Onofrio), who is willing to help Ruth try to contact Katie. As Ruth tries to go through the proper channels and remain on the straight and narrow, the children of the sheriff who was killed over twenty years ago, are not as willing to give her a second chance at life. Instead, Keith and his younger brother Steve begin to take their form of justice to a new level, ensuring their father’s wrongful death extracts the right price. This, along with Katie’s struggles, and the ambiguity surrounding Ruth and Katie’s past makes for an interesting narrative that even if slightly disjointed, is compelling.
The Unforgivable draws its thrills from Ruth and Katie’s psychological connection that affects them both despite the legal distance placed between them. The murky events of their past as well as the current state of their lives, adds to The Unforgivable’s feeling that something isn’t right. Part of the excitement of The Unforgivable is stripping away at the unknown layers of a story that doesn’t feel unreal. Bird Box is entirely different in this regard, as its twists are primarily rooted in the post-apocalyptic environment the survivors have found themselves trying to create some form of sustainability within. What both films ultimately boil down to is fear. Bird Box’s uneasiness is rooted in the fear of the unknown, while The Unforgivable centers around the fear of the truth.
Bird Box immediately sets up that there is something to fear. Malorie (Bullock) blindfolds two young children as she begins to inform them of their next movements, insisting that they cannot take their blindfolds off no matter what. Bird Box then transports viewers five years in the past to set up the grim apocalyptic world the film is set in. Malorie’s sister commits suicide after taking her to a prenatal appointment, as do several others around them. After witnessing her sister’s sudden death, Malorie soon meets a group of survivors who inform her of the demonic entities that are coaxing people to commit suicide after making eye contact with them.
Many of Bird Box’s characters meet grizzly, violent ends because of these entities and other members of the group. These fellow survivors are driven insane either by the entities themselves or the prospect of living in the apocalypse forever. Some sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the group, particularly Malorie and Olympia (Danielle Macdonald) who are both pregnant. As the story continues, the children Malorie refers to as “Boy” and “Girl” are revealed as the children she and Olympia had given birth to during the apocalypse. Like The Unforgivable, Bird Box ends on a relatively optimistic note given the somber tone of the narrative, as Malorie finally gives the children names and sets her symbolic birds free.
Bird Box doesn’t make frequent cuts in time as it relays the narrative. It begins with Malorie and the children moving toward the boat and ends with them achieving some form of safety in another community. The Unforgivable relies on its frequent flashbacks and the distorted memories that Katie struggles to piece together in order to tell its story. It is in these flashbacks and memories that the most significant bits of The Unforgivable’s plot are unveiled. Katie and Ruth’s past relationship with the sheriff and one another, how he is killed, and how they parted ways. While the significance within these scenes is understood, as major plot points, they certainly would’ve benefited from additional time.
No film is without its issues and both Bird Box and The Unforgivable have a number of them. However, Bullock’s lead roles are both particularly memorable. There is a depth to Ruth that Malorie lacks in Bird Box, partly because of the emotional turmoil she battles because of her circumstances. The casts that surround Bullock in each film also make the most of their time on screen, particularly those in The Unforgivable. Of course, with a cast that not only includes D’Onofrio, but Viola Davis, any film is sure to have a few stellar performances on its hands. Even with the pacing issues within The Unforgivable, the film has several redeeming qualities, specifically with its cast, that makes it a more compelling Bullock film than Bird Box.
The Unforgivable is now streaming on Netflix.
