The Unsaid (2001)

Admirable film.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Direct to video release produced and starring Andy Garcia. Also starring Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men) and Linda Cadellini (Freaks and Geeks).Definitely a melodrama, slow moving but with some interesting plot points. Vincent Kartheiser is good as the troubled young man, playing both creepy and vulnerable. A young Linda Cardellini is beautiful as always and as anyone who saw Freaks and Geeks knows is excellent as portraying a realistic teenager. She also sings a song. Andy Garcia is a bit subdued but realistic enough in the main role.Overall it's fairly middling. Overly melodramatic at times and the ending is poor. Honestly I enjoyed it mostly because of seeing a few more famous actor's (Kartheiser and Cardellini)in an early role.It's a 2:00 AM on a cable kind of a movie. Not terrible, but not exactly good

With one of the most heart-breaking introductions, The Unsaid places audiences on a psychological carousel, with enigmas about human behaviour that provoke curiosity and perplexity. Watching this film a whole decade later since my first viewing, it was even more emotional than I previously comprehended. As I mentioned above, the story begins with a tragedy of the greatest magnitude. Michael Hunter and his wife Penny intend on going to their daughter's school performance; however, their son refuses to join them. He is showing clear signs of depression and is reluctant to converse with his family. Unable to penetrate their son's barrier of silence, the family travel without him. In a climactic moment, the family return home to find their son dead, having committed suicide. Several years later, therapist Barbara Lonigan enlists Michael's expertise with seventeen year old Thomas Caffey. Thomas is soon to be released from a home for troubled adolescents, pending his eighteenth birthday. The seemingly balanced teenager shows no signs of trauma, regardless of his brutal memory of his mother's murder.Barbara suspects that Thomas is not ready for release, despite his 'normal' appearance and persona. Tortured by nightmares and feelings of failure to save his son, Michael takes the task - Deciphering what really happened in Thomas' past is the crux of this intriguing psychological film. This plot will wrench at feelings you possess and other emotions you were unaware existed – I am not a father, but that initial scene successfully forced the power of paternity on me. Trevor Blumas who plays Michael's son, Kyle Hunter, emulates the body language, facial expressions and tone of a depressed individual in an unbelievably convincing act. There is a great amount of pain, sadness, realism, humanity and inhumanity throughout the movie. If there was ever a place where there are real complications, real grey, real conundrums in psychology, this storyline harbours them. There is no simplistic right or wrong, black or white, good or evil; just a set of horrific and profoundly sad events.The IMDb average rating currently stands at 6.5/10. This should definitely be higher.Review by Stephen Leslie France

I have seen a lot of movies with actors/actresses playing psychiatrists and how they are portrayed. Most of them are quite horrible, a few have a clue, but are saying things, psychiatrists in the field wouldn't say under any circumstances. However, the title THE UNSAID is; if not perfect, very close to it. Andy Garcia again pulls off what I feel maybe the hardest thing to pull off; a professional actor being a professional psychiatrist. I think the acting on every ones part was superb as well as the lighting and make up. I think a lot of detail was put in things as simple as sitting in a chair, when to lean back, when to lean forward. An excellent movie, I highly recommend it.

*May be Spoilers*This is one of those films you wish you could rewrite and/or reedit. It was good, but.........The film kept my interest, but it just tried to incorporate too many different angles. The whole thing with the Son was unnecessary. The story never fulfilled the connection. The Mystery behind Caffey's past and his relationship with Garcia's daughter added enough intensity to carry the film. The Motives regarding Caffey botching up his release from the institution could have been more justified if there was more focus on the relationship between him & the daughter. The Conversations with Caffey's Father & Garcia's character could have been more suspenseful by incorporating them through out the film. I also feel that Caffey's character could have mentally toyed with Garcia's character a little more.The twist at the end leaves you saying, "uh!" It was unexpected and uncommon to see that in films.Basically there were a lot of script flaws, but there were a lot of good aspects to the story. It was a slightly over done thriller, similar to those Lifetime films.The plot should have been more character driven, instead of being so episodic.Visually, it was less than cinematic. The style was reminiscent of a movie of the week. The performances were great, even though Caffey's character was a little tricky to pull off (due to the storyline), but the actor did a good job.It was a good film that fell short. It definitely had the potential to be a lot better.