Summary

• Unhinged's ending reveals deep thematic depth, exploring modernity's unsettling critique through Russell Crowe's character.
• The lack of confirmed name for Crowe's character centralizes the film's core message about the randomness of violence in society.
• Unhinged illustrates the toll of 21st century living with chilling road rage incidents, emphasizing personal responsibility amidst societal pressures.

2020's Unhinged movie ending was one of the most harrowing and question-making in recent years, and when fully explained highlights the thematic depth of the chilling film. Director Derrick Borte has never been one to shy away from exploring dark themes. A German-born filmmaker who grew up in the U.S., Borte got his start writing and directing 2009's The Joneses, a satirical examination of consumerism. He would later go on to release 2019's American Dreamer, a neo-noir crime thriller that taps into contemporary economic anxiety. However, Unhinged is perhaps his most unsettling critique of modernity yet.

Unhinged stars Russell Crowe as an unstable man who begins to terrorize a woman named Rachel Hunter (Caren Pistorius) after she honks and yells at him for refusing to drive his truck forward after the stoplight at an intersection turns green. Much like Borte's previous work, Unhinged is one thing on the surface (a pulpy thriller about a road-raging murderer), but has deeper meaning than first appears. To better understand the social commentary at play in the Unhinged ending, answers can be found in Russell Crowe's unnamed character.

What is Russell Crowe's Character Named?

Crowe's Character In Unhinged Might Be Called Tom Cooper — But It Doesn't Really Matter

The fact that the name of the "Man" isn't confirmed by the Unhinged movie ending is central to the core themes of the film.

From the very beginning, Unhinged presents Crowe's character as a bit of an enigma. In the film's opening minutes, he's shown breaking into a house, killing its occupants, lighting the building on fire, and driving away (unnervingly) calmly as the house erupts into flames in the background. He later introduces himself to Rachel's friend and divorce lawyer, Andy (Jimmi Simpson), as Tom Cooper, and it's most likely his real name, considering how little he seems to care about the consequences of his actions by then.

However, the fact that the name of the "Man" isn't confirmed by the Unhinged movie ending is central to the core themes of the film. The idea that Russell Crowe's character could be any random person is essential to the movie's core message, which explains why it only refers to him as "Man" during the credits. As the film's tagline puts it, "He can happen to anyone."

Tom And Rachel's Backstories Explained

Both Characters In Unhinged Are Ordinary People Pushed To Breaking Point

Rachel understandably has no desire to hear Tom out when he pulls up in his truck beside her at a later stop, demanding she apologize after admitting he was in the wrong before.

Through a series of news reports watched by the film's supporting characters, Unhinged gradually reveals more about Tom: he has a history of substance abuse and violence, was fired from his longtime job at an auto plant a year earlier (right before his pension), and only just lost his new job a day ago. It's also implied the stress from his unemployment contributed to the crumbling of his marriage, which culminated in Tom murdering his ex-wife and burning down her house (as seen in the film's prologue).

Things aren't going so well for Rachel, either. She's currently in the middle of a challenging divorce and is trying to care for her son, Kyle (Gabriel Bateman), while at the same time housing her under-achieving brother Fred (Austin P. McKenzie). Combined with the stress of having lost the salon she previously operated, she's usually exhausted and struggles to do anything on-time.

Things only spiral downward from there in the Unhinged movie, as Tom begins to pursue Rachel in his truck, eventually attacking — and, in some cases, killing — those closest to her along the way.

Already running late driving Gabriel to school, Rachel loses another job on the way over, shortly before her encounter with Tom. As a result, Rachel understandably has no desire to hear Tom out when he pulls up in his truck beside her at a later stop, demanding she apologize after admitting he was in the wrong before. Unfortunately, things only spiral downward from there in the Unhinged movie, as Tom begins to pursue Rachel in his truck, eventually attacking — and, in some cases, killing — those closest to her along the way.

What Unhinged is Saying About the Modern World

The Chilling Movie Is An Unrelenting Commentary On How Untenable 21st Century Living Can Be

The opening sequence of Unhinged touches on a lot of issues in a short amount of time, ranging from people's excessive documentation of their daily lives on social media to social protests against systematic inequality, reduced job opportunities, and even infidelity.

The Unhinged movie wastes little time before establishing its primary themes. Following the gruesome prologue, the film launches into a montage of clips and voiceover commentary from news reporters and pundits discussing the taxing nature of modern life (all while the opening credits roll). The opening sequence of Unhinged touches on a lot of issues in a short amount of time, ranging from people's excessive documentation of their daily lives on social media to social protests against systematic inequality, reduced job opportunities, and even infidelity.

Naturally, its main focus is on incidents of road rage, ranging from footage of two drivers exchanging harsh words with one another to terrible accidents caused directly by people behaving angrily behind the wheel. If there's a unifying theme to this montage, it's that the modern world is very difficult to live in and too often leads to people snapping under the pressure by doing harmful things they otherwise wouldn't, were their lives easier.

The Unhinged movie then proceeds to illustrate its meaning by focusing on Tom and Rachel, both of whom know from personal experience just how tough life in the 21st century can be.

The Unhinged movie then proceeds to illustrate its meaning by focusing on Tom and Rachel, both of whom know from personal experience just how tough life in the 21st century can be. At the same time, Unhinged doesn't ignore the importance of personal responsibility. Rachel may've only been able to do so much to keep her former business afloat and prevent her marriage from collapsing, but she is responsible for both how she manages her time and takes out her frustration on others.

Tom's in a similar boat. He may have been wronged by his previous employer, but he was also the one who failed to get a handle on his temper and addresses his violent tendencies, which led to the demise of his own marriage and deteriorating circumstances. Even setting Tom's violence aside, Rachel is still more sympathetic, since she doesn't have the toxic sense of entitlement that he does. The message here is basic, but clear: people can only control how the world treats them so much, but they do have some autonomy in how they respond to it.

Unhinged's Final Scene Explained

Rachel Learns A Valuable Lesson From Her Encounter With Tom

Obviously, not every driver who does something irresponsible or wrong while operating their vehicle is going to be an unstable middle-aged white man who's decided the world is sick, and therefore feels justified doing whatever he feels will tip the scales back into balance

There's another side to the Unhinged movie's deeper meaning, and it's all about having empathy for others whenever possible. Obviously, not every driver who does something irresponsible or wrong while operating their vehicle is going to be an unstable middle-aged white man who's decided the world is sick, and therefore feels justified doing whatever he feels will tip the scales back into balance (an archetype that's popped up in other movies, with the late Joel Schumacher's Falling Down being a noteworthy example).

Even so, one never knows what someone else is going through and/or what may have prompted them to behave irresponsibly behind the wheel in the first place. And because of that, it's always possible that some otherwise trivial action will be the trigger that results in them cracking (assuming they haven't already cracked, as was the case when Rachel first met Tom).

In the Unhinged movie's final scene, Rachel takes that lesson to heart, having barely survived her final encounter with Tom

In the Unhinged movie's final scene, Rachel takes that lesson to heart, having barely survived her final encounter with Tom (in which she managed to kill him in self-defense). As she and Kyle drive to the hospital to visit Fred (who's badly burned, but still alive following his own near-death at Tom's hands earlier in the film), another car suddenly cuts across in front of her and Rachel nearly honks her horn at them, before thinking better on it, much to Kyle's relief.

It's played as a light-hearted moment of catharsis after her and Kyle's ordeal since, again, the other driver was most likely not an unstable murderer (in the worst-case scenario, they were probably just being a jerk). Still, it all goes back to Unhinged's tagline and refusal to give Crowe's character a proper name during the credits: it's better to avoid conflict, especially since it's always possible that an otherwise forgettably awkward encounter with a stranger could transform into something much worse.