Review: 'Unhinged' a Little Too Tame

It's fitting that a movie about a road raging madman is played by an actor with such a mercurial reputation as Russell Crowe. His off-screen persona actually lends itself to his role in the new thriller "Unhinged," rather than hindering it. The fact that he had gained weight to make his appear more average and schlubby only makes him more menacing. But having a believable psycho does not a great movie make.

Crowe stars at Tom Cooper, who starts the film off popping pills and violently attacking an elderly couple before setting their house on fire. The next morning, single mom Rachel seems to barely be keeping her life together. On this particular morning, she has overslept and must hurry to get her son to school, or he will get detention for being late again.

Unfortunately, like many things in her life, rush hour traffic is not on her side. After trying two different routes, she gets off the highway and is stuck behind a pickup truck – Tom's truck. All hell breaks loose when Rachel lays on her horn, instead of giving a courtesy tap, in an effort to get his attention to start moving once the stoplight changes to green. Before long he ends up next to her, demanding an apology. When she refuses, he sets out to teach her a lesson and show her what a bad day truly looks like.

With tensions at an all-time high over the last few years, it's not surprising that someone might suffer from road rage occasionally. However, the film never tackles looking into what makes Tom tick. Sometimes they say not having a motive makes things scarier, but while we know the specific cause we're left ignorant of the overall cause that has led up to this moment.

Tom's been triggered by something larger happening in his life – possibly he's going through a "Falling Down"-esque of break down. But the film never really lets the viewer in beyond his opioid addiction and possibly messy divorce, based on his disdain for Rachel's divorce lawyer. A lack of manners alone couldn't be enough to set him off on his murderous rampage. Based on the opening sequence, he was already halfway down that road and just needed a new target to set his GPS on.

"Unhinged" works best when Tom is stalking Rachel on the road. There is a tension of what he might be willing to do with his big pickup truck if he catches up to her small sedan. A few well-timed jump scares also help. Director Derrick Borte is skilled at keeping you on the edge of your seat, but never quite finds his footing once it's off the gas. A lot of the interaction between the characters happens via cell phone, which doesn't have quite the same sense of dread to it.

For the movie to truly work, Crowe needs to be in his scenery-chewing glory. But he's too grounded here to really make the character work. Without humanizing Tom, he needs to be crazy behind the wheel, foaming at the mouth like a male Cruella DeVil. The film is below Crowe's abilities, but he's attempting to elevate the silly road rage movie to be something that should be taken more seriously. He should be having much more fun in the role than he appears to be having.

Relative newcomer Caren Pistorius, on the other hand, has to play it straight as Rachel. She nails the right tone to create a sympathetic character to whom anyone can relate. When Rachel is forced to pick someone from her contact list, Pistorius is heartbreaking, trying to figure out a way to not inflict harm upon anyone that she knows and loves.

You have to wonder what Russell Crowe has done to go from starring in films like "A Beautiful Mind" and "Gladiator" to appearing in a throwaway thriller like "Unhinged." The film takes itself a little bit too seriously to really make this a fun joyride, despite a few moments of pulse-pounding car chases. Maybe next time around instead of just being unhinged, they could also allow Crowe to be unleashed and really let the games begin.

Unhinged arrives on Blu-ray� Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital) and DVD, from Lionsgate, as well as Digital and On Demand November 17th.