Directed by Gregor Jordan, the 2010 action thriller “Unthinkable” contains elements of psychological drama as well. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, and Carrie-Anne Moss, the film offers an intriguing blend of action, suspense, and plot twists that captivate the audience. Credit is due to the writer, Peter Woodward, for crafting such a compelling storyline and delivering it seamlessly. With a runtime of approximately 97 minutes, the film strikes a perfect balance. Once you immerse yourself in Gregor Jordan’s storytelling, there’s no turning back until the gripping finale, which satisfies the cravings of any cinephile.
Spoilers Ahead
Unthinkable (2010) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis
The film starts with Steven Arthur Young, who fumbles while recording his own video, and as soon as he changes his name to Yusuf Atta Mohamed, he declares that he has hidden three nuclear bombs around the USA. When this news is heard by the FBI, Agent Helen Brody is shocked to see how they have not been notified before the media. Just before this leaks to the media, we are introduced to a man named Henry Harold ‘H’ Humphries, who is being called upon by the FBI for an investigation.
When two of the FBI agents are sent to bring in Henry, Charles Thompson calls Brody, saying that the CIA had wrongly sent Henry’s file to them and no agent should be interacting with him as he is a dangerous man. Knowing this, Brody sends two of his men. They find the other two officers tied on chairs who came before them. They bring Henry for the interrogation. But soon Assistant Director of FBI, Jack Saunders, steps in and asks Brody to stop the interrogation as Henry is cleared from top officials. Brody and her team do not understand much about the situation as Henry walks free.
How does Yusuf manage to get Fissionable Material?
Since the news is out, the FBI is put on high alert, and Brody, along with a couple of her men, is tasked with going through all the information that the military has on Yusuf. Brody finds out that even Henry is there, and he participates in the briefing. In the briefing, they find out about three nuclear bombs hidden around the USA, and most interestingly, Yusuf does not share any demand whatsoever. Brody asks about his identity and how he has access to nuclear weapons. The military then confirms that Yusuf, formerly known as Steven Young. He had served in the US Military, and he is an American citizen.
Brody learns that during his service, Steven Young used to be an expert in explosives and bomb disposal as a part of Delta Force. He also specialized in the field of nuclear weapons as he served in Iraq to look out for nuclear bombs. Young is fully American, and during his childhood, his father moved to Islamabad to work at the embassy there. Young is fluent in many languages, including Farsi and Arabic. Brody gets to know that three years ago Young was on a tour in Russia to check out nuclear facilities. Later, the Russians reported the missing of around 15 to 18 pounds of fissionable material. This provides the idea of how Young, who is now Yusuf, managed to make those nuclear bombs.
What does Yusuf Demand from the President of America?
Soon, we realize that Henry, also known as H, is brought in by the top officials to interrogate Yusuf so that he can reveal where the nuclear bombs are hidden. H has his own process of torturing a terrorist to a certain point where the victim will feel dread no matter what. He starts off his interrogation by removing Yusuf’s mask and then hitting a soldier right in front of him. This immediately proves to Yusuf that H is not going to be stopped by anyone, not even by the military. The higher officials hesitated a bit and tried to stop H. But since the man sent was directly from the White House, no one dares stand between H and Yusuf.
However, Brody does not agree with the whole process. However, her superior explains that the priority is to know the locations of the bomb, no matter what the consequences may be. H even cuts off one of Yusuf’s fingers while starting his series of tortures. H keeps getting harsher, and Brody tries to be nicer to Yusuf. Brody senses that Yusuf has planned everything, including this part where he is tortured. Yusuf finally speaks up about his demands. He says he wants the President to say the U.S. will not support puppet governments and dictators in Muslim countries anymore. Moreover, he wants American troops to move out of Muslim countries.
However, the man from the White House decides he won’t bring up this topic to the President, and will not ask the President to remove the historical law just because some terrorist has decided something. They say the U.S. government doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, so it’s not happening. Both Brody and H fail to make themselves understand since Yusuf has not asked his demands to be available in public. They can at least talk to the President about this. However, their request is denied as well.
What incident made Brody hate Yusuf?
Brody asks Yusuf to give them one location of the bomb so that they can see that the threat is more real because there has been a feeling that he is bluffing about the bombs. Understanding the weight of the situation, Yusuf confesses that there are bombs and gives her an address to prove so. They go there and find a room like the one in the video, with evidence on the roof. A soldier finds Yusuf’s picture attached to a wall and when he removes it a switch activates that sets off a bomb at a nearby mall, killing 53 people.
Brody is furious about the deaths and cuts Yusuf with a scalpel. Yusuf isn’t scared. He says Brody wanted him to give the proof that there is a bomb. He just gave her the proof, and now he has regained his strength. Yusuf even says that the deaths at the mall are justified because he believes Americans kill that many people every day, so it is what they deserve. Later Brody sees the clip when Yusuf was actually captured and realizes that he has planned to get caught so he could confront his oppressors. He is military trained, so torture is not something he is unfamiliar with.
Unthinkable (2010) Movie Ending Explained:
How does H manage to get the Locations of the Bomb from Yusuf?
H is now more aggressive than ever before and wants to find a way so that he can get into Yusuf’s mind. From the beginning, Brody thinks of H as a very awful person. But knowing that he has married a woman who was raped by her own neighbors, she gradually comes to respect H. Anyway, Yusuf’s wife is found, and H threatens him that if he does not disclose the locations, he will hurt his wife in front of him. Brody and the rest of the people do not approve of anything, as his wife is just a civilian, and nobody can touch her. Seeing that H is determined to hurt her, they decide to move Yusuf’s wife away from him. But suddenly, H cuts her throat, and she dies in front of Yusuf.
But still, with the utmost pain hidden underneath, Yusuf doesn’t share any information about the bombs. H then orders soldiers to bring in Yusuf’s two children, a boy and a girl, but assures everyone he won’t hurt them. Brody and the others strictly opposed the situation. However, the White House demands results, so they have to proceed with whatever H requires to get the information out from Yusuf.
When the children arrive, H makes it clear he’ll torture them if Yusuf doesn’t talk. He even locks the interrogation room from inside while Yusuf watches from outside. By now, Yusuf believes that H can do anything to achieve what he wants. He makes the terrorist believe that the interrogator can go to any extent and do ‘unthinkable’ things.
Yusuf screams as Brody asks him again and again to give up the locations. Yusuf, knowing H can and will hurt his kids, finally gives three addresses in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Even so, H does not stop as he says that he will not let go of the children unless the addresses are verified. Now, everyone tries to stop him, even breaking the door of the interrogation room to stop H from harming the children.
Was there a Fourth Bomb?
H says Yusuf might have had a fourth bomb because there’s still a lot of missing nuclear material. He insists Yusuf hasn’t admitted to it, as H points out that everything Yusuf has done has been carefully planned. He knew torture would probably break him. So he might have planted another bomb just in case he had to give up all three locations.
The children are asked to be brought again, but Brody interferes. The higher authority again asks Brody to step down. H says that he will only continue his interrogation if Brody herself puts the children inside the room. H knows by now that Brody is the only person in the room who is selfless and a good person. Everyone else is looking for a way out, even agreeing to sacrifice the children to save millions of Americans. But Brody is the only one in the room who says that she will embrace death rather than harming the children. H then lets Yusuf go as the man from the White House points his gun at H. Yusuf grabs his gun and shoots himself, asking Brody to take care of his kids.
Later, at the end of the film, we see all three bombs have been defused. But, there remains a fourth bomb, just like H had predicted earlier. The bomb has perhaps gone off. The film does not show anything about it. The interesting take from the film is the character H. The system has made this animal, and now, when he is killing other humans, everyone judges him. They take pity on Yusuf, who has already killed 53 innocent people. Among them, there must have been kids. But when H was about to torture Yusuf’s kids, they all thought that H was the evil one here.
Well, H represents the mirror that society needs at times. We can hardly be a Brody since, deep inside, we all are selfish. Who pushed the Youngs to turn into Yusufs? H questions that and answers that. Indeed, a wonderful, wonderful thriller to watch.
