Unthinkable- How far would you go?

An American suspect, of Islamic convert, sends a video to US government agencies, revealing that there are 3 nuclear bombs in 3 different undisclosed locations. He states that they are set to be detonated within the next week. The suspect whose family we are to believe has left him, allows himself to be caught by the authorities. Military intelligence, CIA and FBI are deployed into action with the clock ticking and they must find these nuclear bombs. They are given direct orders, from the president, via his messenger, that they must do everything in their power to get the locations and stop the bombs. This isn’t a job for just anybody, so they employ the one person who they know will pull out all of the stops, Humphries. H, seems to have a rapport with the authorities and president, he seems to be the go to guy to conduct interrogations that they know are going to be difficult and that are going to require some roughing up of the suspect. So, in an effort to do just what was ordered of him, “H”, immediately resorts to torture and beats up a military guard, in an effort to prove to younger that he has no limits, and that he will do what it takes and that those outside of that glass watching, will not be able to stop him. As the time is winding down, we see many back and forth, “this is wrong”, “no, this is necessary”, arguments and many moral conflicts between the characters. The search for Younger family, turns up fruitful and they try and use Younger’s wife as a ploy to get him talking, he obviously doesn’t and H is threatening her, but Brody and others in the room are fighting with him about leaving her alone, because she knows nothing, and as they attempt to take her out of the torture chamber, H slits her throat in front Younger. This doesn’t get him talking either, so H is pressed to do the “Unthinkable”, he brings in the children, the one topic that he discussed with Younger that showed his weak side, he gives up the location of 3 bombs, but H isn’t ready to release the children yet, because he knows there is a 4^th. The officials outside of the chamber freak out and don’t trust that H will not harm the children, so they blow open the door and take the kids, H comes out with a mathematical equation proving that Younger has in fact set a fourth bomb.

The Director wants to show us the inside workings of these covert operations, I believe he wants us to understand their magnitude and then ask ourselves, when force and torture seem to be the only options left, how far is too far when innocent lives are at stake? Do you save millions of citizens and your country from nuclear bombs at the expense of one troubled individual’s family, kids included? If this was in fact his intent, job well done.

 I think it’s important for citizens to see a movie like this and I am annoyed that it was not a widely released film, although I am sure that is because of its “political content”, nonetheless still annoying. While I understand it may seem, to some naïve minds, “far-fetched” that these types of incidences occur, and to others ethically wrong, I still believe it’s important to understand them, and see what it takes to go through with an interrogation like this. An interrogation, where you feel helpless, because you can’t get information out of a suspect and you know that in a few hours major cities are going to be blown up and thousands, maybe millions of lives are going to be lost: One where the interrogator has the most horrendous job in the world, he is never the hero, he is never appreciated, he is always the “bad guy”, and he knows it and he hates it, but he still does it to save you and I, the citizens on the outside with no clue what is going on, on the inside. I think the director hones in, remarkably, on a valid point and poses an important question, while urging viewers to step into the shoes of the potential victims and their loved ones, before casting judgment or anger onto the authorities. These authorities are faced with the ultimate decision of how to proceed successfully with extracting information from a heartless terrorist before lives are lost, some would argue that there is no limit on how far one should go in order to save lives, others would argue that using torture is morally unjust. I personally wish this film would have had a bigger release. The director, the cast, the sound and the dialogue are perfection. They facilitate the telling of this story greatly. The sounds in the torture chamber make you feel like you want to agree with Brody’s opinion, but then the story of H’s wife’s family, or the lie from younger about there being no bombs and an immediate report of a mall bomb with 53 casualties, brings you back to the side that says go for it, do what it takes because Younger is obviously heartless and willing to do what it takes to carry out his plan, so why shouldn’t we do what it takes to save our citizens. Then there are other times that you may want to side with Helen and her “it’s unconstitutional” babbling, you hear a line like “Helen, if those bombs go off there will be no fucking Constitution!”, a friendly reminder that the issue at hand is of a magnitude much larger than the pain felt by one perpetrator.