A Few Quotes from the Movie Unhinged Worth Considering
What was Russell Crowe’s most vile, deranged, and vengeful character trying to teach us about humanity?
What on earth can you learn from a raving lunatic? The Man was a psycho, a cold blooded criminal.
He was a murderer, an arsonist, a ruthless road rager. He stalked a woman and tortured and killed people she loved.
He didn’t have any ounce of humanity left in him.
You definitely got a valid point there.
I got out of the movie theater feeling like I had been castigated then flogged by a menacing, invisible presence.
Unhinged is an extremely violent movie.
It’s a terrifying thriller that spooked me more than notorious horror movies such as The Exorcist, The Ring, or Poltergeist.
Known as someone who snoozes in cinemas, I was surprisingly awake the entire time.
I was attentively listening and trying to evaluate Russell Crowe’s character’s short but terrifying tirades. He’s simply referred to as The Man in the movie.
Although the majority of the time, The Man was grunting while driving like a maniac or slamming someone’s head on a surface or setting someone on fire, the few lines he uttered were chilling, and yet, I believe, contain a sliver of truth in them.
Without giving out too many spoilers, here are quotes from The Man, which would probably give you an idea of his background.
“Rachel has dismissed me as the unworthiest f*&^ to ever walk this planet and you know what Fred? I don’t disagree.
Every effort, every sacrifice I have ever made in my invisible life, has been dismissed. And judged. Ignored.
I’ve been chewed up, used up, and spit out.”
It sounds like a man who had been wronged his whole life.
“So I think, f - - kin’ Fred, I’ll make my contribution this way: through violence and retribution. ‘Cause that’s all I got left.”
Then came to a breaking point and ran amok. A house was set on fire. Dead bodies piled up. Cars got turned over, smashed, blown up—chaos.
“So Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer had hordes of admirers and received numerous letters while incarcerated.
Most of the letter writers apparently expressed their undying love and lust for them and were willing to carry baby Bundys and Dahmers.
Are you like these people who have the hots for schezophrenic serial murderers?”
There you go again. No, absolutely not. I don’t have hybristophilia.
Unsure if those die-hard fans were probably suffering from a mental illness.
To be very clear, this isn’t idolizing criminals or justifying violence.
It’s not to encourage anyone who feels victimized by society to go on a senseless rampage.
I can’t entirely agree with the villain’s conjecture that since he had been abused and dismissed all his life, he’d make violence and retribution his contributions to the world.
That’s just sick and disgusting. There’s no justification for beating and killing innocent human beings.
It wasn’t for them to be punished for his rejections, failures, and overall sad life.
The Man was the only character in this movie who rightfully deserved his tragic end.
However, despite the gore and violence, I did hear some redeeming quotes, which I’d like to share.
While Russell Crowe’s character was undeniably repugnant, he did mutter a few lines, which I think are worth thinking about.
“I don’t even get a courtesy tap first?”
“Do you know what a courtesy tap is, young man? It’s light; it’s friendly.”
Isn’t that right? While driving and the person in front of you isn’t moving at a light or trying to get into your lane on the freeway, isn’t it better to give them a slight tap on the horn to communicate instead of honking non-stop?
We don’t know what people are going through, so it’s always nice to be a little friendlier.
Besides, would your quality as a human being be downgraded if you abandon your road warrior/war freak facade?
How many unwanted incidents could we have prevented had we been a bit more patient and cautious while on the road?
For clarity, no, this isn’t victim-blaming.
Again, with all the problems in this world, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of Johns and Janes out there who are ticking time bombs.
Let’s not give them the ammunition to showcase their savagery. We’re better off staying level-headed and peaceful.
That is where we are in this world today. We seem to have developed a fundamental inability to apologize to anyone for anything.
When you’ve made a mistake, why not just say sorry? It’s easy and won’t blow things out of proportion.
Apologize shortly, but sincerely then you leave each other alone.
Nobody likes rude, thoughtless people, so why choose to be one?
There’s basically no need to be onion skinned. Learn to let go of the small stuff. Try soothing your seething anger any way you can.
I’m here to make your sister realize that her words and actions have consequences.
Have you ever said or done anything you regretted because it exacerbated a situation?
What we say and do have repercussions, so isn’t it a good idea to think twice before saying out loud what comes to mind?
Isn’t it logical to consider different options first before getting into the action?
So a frenzied maniac is telling us to be considerate, friendly, polite, and thoughtful?
Ironic indeed.
Would you consider disregarding where those words came from and actually try to be a more compassionate member of the human race?
I’m sure it isn’t much of a task to:
- Give a courtesy tap instead of blowing your horn.
- Say sorry when you make a mistake.
- Think twice or three times before saying or doing something. Remember, whatever we say or do has consequences.
“From even the greatest of horrors, the irony is seldom absent.” H.P. Lovecraft
