I try not to drive very much, due to a little road rage problem. Other drivers absolutely cannot cut in front of me. When they do, they are being disrespectful, like a slap in the face, and I feel compelled to "get even" by zooming around them. Strangely, the police don't see it that way, and think that I am in the wrong.
So I love movies and tv shows about road rage, like Deliverance and Beef. When Unhinged, 2020, showed up on Netflix, I clicked "play" without doing any research.
Prologue: A montage of sensationalistic stories about an epidemic of violent crime, people going beserk, law and order decaying, a downward spiral of disorder. The violent crime rate is the lowest it's been since the 1950s, one tenth the rate in 1990.
Scene 1: Mom Rachel is sleeping on the couch when she is awakened by her lawyer, Andy. Her ex wants even more stuff in the divorce. Plus she overslept, so now her son will get to school later, get another tardy on his record -- in the era of the school-to-prison pipeline, a possible arrest -- and she'll be late meeting with her client.
Scene 2: At breakfast, a feminine man, who lives with them, is talking online with his mom about assisted living. Gay uncle? Nope, a woman comes in, says that she loves him, and they kiss. Had to heterosexualize him immediately, didn't you? There's also a girl wandering around. Son is watching tv news about a man who killed some people, then set the house on fire. Foreshadowing.
Back story: It's Mom Rachel's Freddy and his wife, staying with her but not kicking in any rent., because he's into get-rich-quick schemes.
Uncle Freddy is played by Austin P. McKenzie. whose first acting job was in the ASL-inclusive, gay-themed Spring Awakening. He has also appeared in When We Rise and Speech and Debate. He is in a relationship with Kevin McHale, formerly of Glee.
Scene 3: Mom Rachel and her Son rush out of the house, and run into the neighbor, also taking her kids to school. So, carpool? Neighbor is much more successful and snobbish.
The Son is played by Gabriel Bateman, no relation to Jason Bateman. More recently he had a starring role as Charlie Fox in Mosquito Coast, the role River Phoenix originated in the movie.
Uh-oh gridlock. Should they take the freeway? Son checks the traffic on his phone -- it looks clear. So they cut down the shoulder onto the freeway. How far away is this kid's school?
Scene 4: Dad Richard calls to blow off whatever gender-polarized masculine thing he and his son have planned for tomorrow night. Mom's client calls to fire her for being late so often. And...more gridlock! I've been trapped in gridlock a lot, in weird places like the middle of Illinois, nowhere near anywhere, and heading out of Cleveland during morning rush hour, when everyone should be going toward downtown. We were parked in that one for 45 minutes.
Son suggests getting off at the next exit and taking surface streets, so she drives into the shoulder, pushes her way through several lanes of traffic, getting honked at, and onto another shoulder to the surface street and a stop light.
The light turns green, but the truck in front of her doesn't move. She blares her horn, then zooms around him while making an obscene gesture. Uh-oh, that's the worst thing you can do. You've just signaled the other driver that you think he is worthless, so he'll have to zoom around you to prove that he is a valid human being.
And more gridlock!
Scene 5: The Man in the Truck pulls up next to them, apologizes for "zoning out," and then asks Rachel to apologize for disrespecting him. She refuses, saying that she has nothing to apologize for. Are you kidding? You've been acting like an entitled jerk the whole trip. You've cut off like a dozen drivers.
He says that this is why the society is falling apart: "We have lost the ability to apologize to anyone for anything." She tries to ignore him. He promises that she's going to find out what a bad day is.
At that moment, the traffic opens up, and they drive away. The Man zooms around, cuts them off, and slams on his brakes. Smiling at his triumph, he moves on. That must be what he means by "finding out what a bad day is." It would certainly ruin my day. Wait -- there's still an hour left.
More after the break
Scene 6: Rachel zooms onto a side street, cutting off a truck. Wait -- he was ahead of you, going away. "Some people are just jerks," she says, har har. They arrive at the school, which has a high fence around it and an armed guard at the door, more signs of societal decay. What reactionary nutjob directed this movie?
Son will have detention because of his tardiness. Mom promises to pick him up after, but he knows that she'll be late or not show up at all, because she's irresponsible. Ya think?
She drives away, while making a lunch date with her lawyer on the phone. And almost rams into a car and a pedestrian. Jerk!
The lawyer is played by Jimmi Simpson, who has had recurring or starring roles in Westworld, Dark Matter, and Pachenko. He specializes in characters informed by toxic masculinity.
Scene 7: Almost out of gas! She hadn't noticed until this moment, so she stops in at a horrible nearby gas station, leaving her cell phone in the car as she goes inside to pay, browse, get money from an ATM, and buy a lottery ticket. Uh-oh, the Man is parked behind her! Ok, this is not retaliation for a cut-off anymore. I was actually on the Man's side up to this point -- I missed the scene before the opening credits, where he kills some people. She tells the cashier and a friendly customer about the road rage incident, and the customer walks her out to her car, and takes down the Man's license plates.
As she drives off, the Customer blocks the Man's way so he can't move. But he does move, crashing into the Customer, sending him flying over the windshield, twice, to his death.
The Customer is played by Stephen Louis Grush, one of my favorite "depressing movie" actors.
She zooms away, the Man giving chase, and hits...gridlock. Onto a side street, into an industrial wasteland -- well, it's all been an industrial wasteland -- and I'm out of space.
Spoiler alert: her day is going to get much, much worse.
Beefcake: None
Gay characters: Nope. Well, the son doesn't express any heterosexual interest.
Protagonists: None. Rachel and the Man are both sociopaths, lacking in empathy. completely unsympathetic, both symbols of societal decline. One just happens to be more violent.
The Man: I don't understand his motive. He wants to destroy Rachel's life because she wouldn't apologize?
Surprise casting: although you'd never know, the Man is played by Russell Crowe, best known for the beefcake-heavy Gladiator
My Grade: C. It would have been an B, except for the lack of gay characters and the reactionary nonsense.
See also: Stephen Louis Grush: From Pericles to Peter's Militia, with lots of gay roles in between
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