The Unforgivable

The Unforgivable is a 2021 drama film directed by Nora Fingscheidt and written by Peter Craig, Hillary Seitz, and Courtenay Miles, based on the 2009 British miniseries Unforgiven written by Sally Wainwright. The film stars Sandra Bullock as a woman who, following her release from prison after serving twenty years for committing murder, is determined to reunite with her estranged younger sister. Vincent D'Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Richard Thomas, Linda Emond, Aisling Franciosi, Rob Morgan, and Viola Davis also star. A co-production of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, The Unforgivable was produced by Bullock, Graham King, and Veronica Ferres. Filming began in Vancouver in February 2020 and, after halting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded that October. The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 24, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on December 10, 2021. It received mixed reviews from critics but Bullock's performance was praised. Plot Ruth Slater is released from prison after serving twenty years for killing a sheriff who came to evict her and her five-year-old sister, Katie, from their home in Snohomish, Washington. Upon her release, she gets two jobs, and begins to search for her estranged younger sister. Katie, having been raised by an adoptive family in Seattle, does not consciously remember Ruth, although she has brief memories of trauma. On the day of Ruth's release, Katie is involved in a car accident, and returns to her adoptive parents’ home to recover. Katie's parents worry that the accident was due to her memories, and that she may somehow be aware that Ruth has been released. They agree that they were right to hide the truth from Katie, for her own good.