The Unforgivable.

New on Netflix.

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, Sandra Bullock stars in this gritty drama about the inability to forgive. Bullock plays Ruth Slater, just released from prison after serving 20 years for the murder of a policeman. Which happened while protecting herself and her young sister, whom she had raised, from eviction from the family home. Housed in a halfway house under the guidance of her parole officer Vincent (Rob Morgan), she tries to rebuild her life. This includes trying to understand what happened to her younger sister, Kate. However, her history haunts her, literally in the case of the two sons of the murdered cop, Steve (Will Pullen) and Keith (Tom Guiry), who are not ready to forget or forgive.

There was a lot for me to enjoy here, even with some rather less than subtle plot contrivances to deliver some redemption. That aside, the story paints an interesting image of the struggle for forgiveness, be it by those wronged or the perpetrators’ inability to forgive themselves.

Bullock is excellent in the lead; she is engaging and believable as she portrays the downtrodden Ruth, who has no interest in seeking forgiveness from those around her and accepts that second chances are not a right.

There is also some good support, Jon Bernthal, as Blake who tries to befriend her. Vincent D’Onofrio and Viola Davies as John and Liz, a lawyer and his wife, who purchase Slaters’ childhood home and offer her support in her darker moments.

The film does have issues, though. The plot contravence discussed earlier jars with the heart of the story, almost introducing a new film for the last 30 minutes. There are also a few too many swift character reappraisals of Ruth, which stretch credibility.

While The Unforgivable isn’t life-changing and its bleak look and feel and overly convenient moments won’t be for some. But in Sandra Bullock, there is an engaging screen presence who gets the fine balance between sympathy and comeuppance just right. Even with its flaws in Bullock’s performance, there was enough that made it work for me.