"Unabomber" (Unabomber) came out yesterday, 25 September 2026, on Netflix. And we hasten to share it with you right away.
It is a criminal psychological drama based on the real story of Ted Kaczynski — a gifted Harvard graduate who later became one of the most wanted criminals in the United States.
The film unfolds along two timelines at once. In one, we see the young Kaczynski, who as a student becomes a participant in the harsh psychological experiments of Professor Henry Murray. The second carries us many years forward, when the FBI is already conducting a large-scale hunt for the Unabomber.
A far from ordinary true crime
The film turned out dynamic, intriguing, intellectual and very psychological.
What's more, its structure is rather unusual.
At first everything develops quickly: Harvard, the experiments, the investigation, the constant feeling that you need to put together another little piece of the puzzle.
Then the pace unexpectedly changes. There is less action, and the film seems to climb inside its characters' heads. A completely different story begins — psychological pressure, manipulation, ideas, loneliness and questions about the moment when a person's convictions turn into a dangerous obsession.
Closer to the finale the intrigue intensifies again and the pace picks up.
That is why "Unabomber" is a rather strange film, one that changes its mood several times right over the course of a viewing.
But one thing can be said for certain: here "psychological" is not merely a genre. It is psychological in practically every sense — human, social, and even philosophical.
Russell Crowe — that very gaze
The director of the film is Janus Metz, known for his work on "Borg/McEnroe," "All the Old Knives," as well as individual episodes of major series.
The cast here is genuinely strong.
Jacob Tremblay plays the young Ted Kaczynski. He is well remembered for "Wonder,", "Room," and "The Life of Chuck."
Russell Crowe takes on the role of Professor Henry Murray. "Gladiator," "A Beautiful Mind," "Cinderella Man" — one could go on listing his strong performances for a long time.
And Crowe is especially impressive here.
His manner of speaking, the character's confidence in his own righteousness, and that famous heavy gaze work magnificently. Sometimes it is enough for Crowe simply to look at his interlocutor for the scene to become far more tense at once.
Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller. We know her from "Divergent", "Descendants," "Big Little Lies" and "Lonely Hearts".
Annabelle Wallis also appears in one of the notable roles. Many remember her from "The Tudors", "Peaky Blinders," "Rebellion" and other major projects.
And that is far from all — the supporting roles, too, are played by very familiar and very solid actors.
The most interesting thing here is not the investigation itself
One could have made an ordinary story in the "FBI catches a criminal" genre.
But the creators were clearly interested in something else: how a very talented young man gradually arrives at where he arrived.
The film does not try to justify Kaczynski. It rather examines his story as a complex chain of psychological, social and personal events.
Because of this, we have before us simultaneously a crime thriller and a study of the human psyche.
And at times the second film inside the first turns out to be even more interesting than the investigation itself.
If the topic has hooked you
For those who, after watching, will want to dig deeper into the story, we would recommend two more projects.
"Manhunt: Unabomber" (Manhunt: Unabomber, 2017) — a very high-quality series that shows the FBI investigation in far greater detail, and how the analysis of texts and language helped to track down the criminal.
And "Ted K" (Ted K, 2021) with Sharlto Copley — a more intimate, bleak and directly Kaczynski-focused film.
The result is one real story — and three completely different views of it.
The verdict
"Unabomber" is a high-quality, intelligent and at times genuinely tense psychological crime drama.
It starts as a dynamic thriller, then noticeably slows down and turns into almost a psychological study, and closer to the finale it brings the intrigue back again.
Not everyone will like such a transition. For those who expect a continuous FBI hunt and action, the middle may seem too measured.
But if you accept the film's rules, there is plenty to watch here: strong actors, an intellectual component, psychological tension and a story after which you want to read a little more about what actually happened in reality.
A separate plus is Russell Crowe. Even when he is simply sitting and looking at the person opposite, it seems the psychological experiment has already begun.
Gaya's rating: 7.7/10.
