Film Review: Not everything is as it seems with Sandra Bullock in The Unforgivable

Sandra Bullock shines in the new Netflix movie The Unforgivable, a story about an ex-con attempting to re-enter society in Seattle.

Sandra Bullock shines in the new Netflix movie The Unforgivable – based on the 2009 ITV mini-series Unforgiven –  despite only having a 41 per cent critic rating and 81 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes it’s definitely worth a stream.

Ruth Slater, played by Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality) is released from prison after a 20-year sentence for murdering a police officer. The Unforgivable follows Ruth as she attempts to reintegrate into society in Seattle, USA, and reconnect with her sister Katie, played by Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones.)

Ruth finds that she will always be seen as a “cop killer” as she faces judgement from everyone in the place that she once lived, with her only hope for redemption lying with her estranged younger sister who now lives with her adoptive mother, played by the amazing Viola Davis (The Help,) father and sister.

The sons of the police officer that Ruth killed 20 years previously are out for revenge in this plot that has some unexpected twists and turns and although what Ruth has done is (seemingly, but I won’t give too much away) “unforgivable,” Bullock is successful in making the audience feel some kind of empathy and pity towards her, as we see her mostly isolated and alone in dreary Seattle.

The present-day meshes with flashbacks from Ruth’s past with Katie in the country house where they used to live and were forced to leave behind, some of them are dreamy summer memories of Katie growing up, while others increasingly reveal the story behind why Ruth ends up in prison.

This movie portrays the idea that not everything and everyone is as they seem and although there are some plot holes and parts of the narrative are quite implausible (possibly due to the fact it works better as a series,) the ending will leave many welling-up.

Watch the trailer:

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