The Unforgivable  ★★★

SANDRA Bullock is a favourite of mine.

She always has a red-hot go at tackling any role and in interviews seems less of a jerk than many of her Hollywood colleagues.

From reluctant action star in Speed to the dramas of 28 Days, Crash and The Blind Side, sci-fi thriller with Gravity and of course comedies like Miss Congeniality, she has carved a place in popular cinema.

In the 2021 drama The Unforgivable she plays a woman trying to put her life back together after serving 20 years in prison for the murder of a police officer.

We follow Ruth Slater as she is kicked back into society with little possessions other than the clothes on her back and forced to deal with an unsympathetic parole officer, life in a run-down half-way house and finding jobs that will amount to something more than just surviving from week to week.

She is also determined to find her sister Katie who was only five when Ruth was imprisoned. The film also follows Katie who has grown up with foster-parents and has no memories of Ruth.

Further complications arise for Ruth when the family of her victim are tipped off as to her whereabouts and are considering taking revenge.

In short flashbacks throughout the film we see the incident that sent Ruth to prison unfold and learn more about the bond between the sisters.

This is the third film directed by German Nora Fingscheidt but the story isn’t an original one, being based on a 2009 British television mini-series called Unforgiven.

The majority of the film is a slow-burn character study focusing separately on the characters of Ruth and Katie, but also examining the difficulties of a return to society from prolonged incarceration.

As usual Bullock gives a solid performance while the supporting cast includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Richard Thomas, Rob Morgan and Viola Davis.

A couple of interesting twists in the third act add further value to a strong drama.