The Unforgivable
Netflix | Release Date: November 24, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerNov 24, 2021
Drawn, taut and nearly silent, Bullock convincingly creates a shell of wariness and self-protection, and then gradually lets it crack. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRoxana HadadiNov 24, 2021
The Unforgivable transcends its own self-importance and becomes an experience that is often rattling, challenging and haunting. Read full review
65
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanNov 24, 2021
A tightly-drawn Bullock is fully in tune with Ruth’s pain, making her extreme introversion an evident side effect of trauma rather than personality. Because Ruth keeps so much inside, Fingscheidt uses every element to create a sensory connection between this difficult character and the audience. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 9, 2021
Bullock gives us an old-fashioned star turn at the center of an equally-celebrated supporting cast and gives a young woman director from her mother’s homeland a big break. Call Unforgivable a mixed bag, but an intensely watchable one. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 24, 2021
Sandra Bullock has starred in only seven films in the last decade, and along with Gravity in 2013, her two most intriguing roles by far have been courtesy of the streaming giant Netflix: first with the smash hit horror film Bird Box (2018) and now with The Unforgivable, which has prestige credentials, a brilliant, A-list cast and a few moments of near-greatness, but is ultimately a disappointing and frustrating viewing experience due mostly to script and editing problems. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyNov 24, 2021
A strong cast and tightly focused direction make The Unforgivable an engrossing enough redemption drama, though this Americanized feature adaptation of British TV writer Sally Wainwright’s 2009 miniseries, Unforgiven, doesn’t always benefit from its condensed plotting. Read full review
50
Screen RantDebopriyaa DuttaDec 18, 2021
Helmed by a brilliant Bullock, The Unforgivable is a flawed retelling of a profound story, limited by plot contrivances and an unconvincing execution. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussNov 29, 2021
Even with a script that doesn’t provide much behavioral variety and goes in many wrong directions, Bullock commands the screen with little more than closed lips and wary stares. Read full review
50
Original-CinLiam LaceyNov 29, 2021
There’s a sense that the film is attempting to navigate a sort of Atom Egoyan-like exploration of the ripple effects of trauma but it stumbles over a mishmash of a screenplay — the clumsy fragmentary flashbacks, the rushed climax and time-jumping, cross-cutting wind-up — none of which are improved by David Fleming and Hans Zimmer’s generic thriller score. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichNov 24, 2021
In practice, mincing up the miniseries’ plot without losing any of its main ingredients — and even adding several new ones to the mix, including a whopper of a third act twist that turns Ruth into a martyr and all but completely erodes the movie’s emotional core — results in an undercooked stew that isn’t given the time it needs to find any real flavor of its own. Read full review
45
PolygonRobert DanielsDec 9, 2021
Despite a deep ensemble led by a transformative Bullock, Unforgivable moves at a turgid pace, lacking the urgency and pathos required in a redemption narrative with any hopes that the audience will pull for its damaged protagonist. Read full review
42
The PlaylistMarya E. GatesDec 17, 2021
By keeping the film’s emotional core at a distance for most of the film, the only catharsis the audience feels during its denouement is from the relief that this bleak, miserable slog is finally over. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloNov 24, 2021
The whole thing comes across as a movie star’s anti-vanity project, just an opportunity for Bullock to demonstrate her ostensible range. Okay, she can be hard and stoic and affectless. Noted. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyDec 9, 2021
It’s never outright bad – not unforgivably so – but comes off muted, diffuse and generally half-baked. Read full review
40
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonDec 9, 2021
The screenplay, adapted by Peter Craig, Hillary Seitz and Courtenay Miles from a British mini-series, gifts Bullock a few big screaming scenes but mostly has her slouching around silently while it dithers over whether or not to root for Ruth to rebuild her life. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonNov 24, 2021
A frustrating drama that struggles to be either a thoughtful character study or a slow-burn thriller. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 24, 2021
The plot’s twists and turns, which were manageable in a three-part TV drama, look contrived and unlikely in a feature film and Bullock has little to do but look self-consciously solemn and martyred for the entirety of it. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 24, 2021
The Unforgivable is devoid of all textures and emotions that don’t readily affirm the film’s rigid worldview of redemption. Read full review
21
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpDec 10, 2021
It’s possible for cinema to weave this many themes and concerns together into one cohesive film. The Unforgivable simply doesn’t. Read full review
12
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonNov 24, 2021
This is three movies in one, each of which is progressively worse. Read full review
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