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Jacob Tremblay delivers a layered performance portraying Ted Kaczynski’s isolation, intelligence and increasingly troubled personality during his Harvard years.
Russell Crowe brings complexity to Harvard professor Henry Murray, whose psychological experiments significantly influence the film’s central storyline.
The film combines Kaczynski’s personal history with an FBI investigation, creating an intriguing but uneven true-crime narrative overall.
‘Unabomber’ takes a difficult subject and approaches it through two different periods of Ted Kaczynski’s life. The film moves between his years as a Harvard student and the later FBI investigation into the series of bombings that made the ‘Unabomber’ one of the most notorious figures in American criminal history.
Rather than focusing only on the investigation, the film spends considerable time exploring Kaczynski’s personality, his academic brilliance and the experiences that gradually pushed him further away from society. The result is a character-driven true-crime drama that has strong performances but does not always make the most of its complicated subject.
Jacob Tremblay plays the younger Ted Kaczynski, portraying him as an exceptionally intelligent but socially isolated student. His performance avoids making Kaczynski immediately threatening. Instead, the film shows a young man who struggles to connect with others and becomes increasingly withdrawn.
This part of the story becomes particularly important when Kaczynski becomes involved with Harvard professor Henry Murray, played by Russell Crowe. Murray conducts psychological experiments involving Kaczynski, and the experience becomes one of the film’s central elements.
Tremblay does some of his strongest work in these quieter scenes. His performance gradually changes as Kaczynski becomes more suspicious and isolated, giving the character an unsettling progression without relying on exaggerated mannerisms.
Crowe's Murray is one of the more complicated figures in the film. He initially appears as an accomplished academic who takes an interest in Kaczynski's intelligence, but his psychological experiments create an increasingly uncomfortable dynamic.
The film uses their relationship to explore questions about psychological experimentation, authority and the effect that prolonged emotional pressure can have on a young person.
However, ‘Unabomber’ sometimes makes the connection between Murray’s experiments and Kaczynski’s later life feel too direct. Kaczynski's eventual actions were far more complicated than one relationship or experience, and the film occasionally appears to simplify that history for dramatic purposes.
The story eventually shifts towards the investigation into the ‘Unabomber’. Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller, who becomes involved in the effort to identify the person behind the attacks.
These sections provide the film with its procedural element, but they are not always as absorbing as the Harvard storyline. The investigation has the ingredients of a gripping crime thriller, yet the screenplay moves through some developments rather quickly.
Joanne also serves as a way for the audience to follow the investigation without becoming overwhelmed by its various details. Woodley gives the character determination, although the role does not receive the same depth as Tremblay's Kaczynski.
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As the FBI continues working to identify the ‘Unabomber’, the investigation begins connecting the attacks to a larger pattern. The case becomes increasingly difficult because the bomber is not simply leaving random clues behind.
The film also examines the importance of Kaczynski’s writing and the attention surrounding his manifesto. His ability to articulate his ideas becomes an important part of the effort to understand who is behind the attacks.
This part of the story is effective when the film focuses on the painstaking nature of the investigation. However, it occasionally feels compressed, considering the enormous amount of material surrounding the real-life case.
The film ultimately moves towards Kaczynski’s identification and capture. His identity becomes increasingly difficult to conceal as investigators examine the language and ideas contained in his writings.
The eventual revelation confirms that the isolated academic seen earlier in the film is the same man responsible for the bombing campaign. The connection between the two timelines gives the ending its strongest emotional impact.
Rather than presenting the conclusion as a conventional victory for the investigators, the film leaves viewers with the disturbing contrast between Kaczynski’s earlier life and the crimes he eventually committed.
The ending also reinforces one of the film’s central ideas: understanding a criminal’s background does not erase responsibility for the crimes.
‘Unabomber’ spends much of its runtime examining the experiences that influenced Kaczynski, but it does not present those experiences as an excuse for his actions. That distinction becomes increasingly important as the story approaches its conclusion.
The film's final stretch is therefore less about delivering a dramatic twist and more about bringing its two timelines together.
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‘Unabomber’ is an uneven but watchable true-crime drama that benefits considerably from its cast. Jacob Tremblay gives the film its most layered performance, while Russell Crowe adds complexity to a character who becomes central to the movie’s exploration of Kaczynski’s early life.
The biggest issue is the screenplay. There is enough material here for both a psychological character study and a detailed investigative thriller, but the film tries to accommodate both within a limited runtime. The Harvard storyline consequently feels more developed, while the FBI investigation could have benefited from greater depth.
The film also takes some dramatic liberties in connecting Kaczynski’s later actions with specific experiences from his youth. That makes the narrative easier to follow, but it can also make a complicated real-life story feel more straightforward than it actually was.
For viewers interested in true-crime dramas, ‘Unabomber’ offers strong performances and an intriguing look at one of America's most infamous criminal cases. It is less successful as a definitive examination of Kaczynski or the investigation that eventually exposed him.
What is ‘Unabomber’ about?
‘Unabomber’ follows Ted Kaczynski’s Harvard years alongside the FBI investigation into the bombing campaign that eventually revealed his identity and led to his capture.
Who plays Ted Kaczynski in ‘Unabomber’?
Jacob Tremblay plays the younger Ted Kaczynski, portraying his intelligence, isolation and growing withdrawal during his early academic years before his transformation.
Who stars alongside Jacob Tremblay in ‘Unabomber’?
Russell Crowe plays Harvard professor Henry Murray, while Shailene Woodley portrays FBI agent Joanne Miller, who becomes involved in the investigation surrounding Kaczynski.
Does ‘Unabomber’ explain Ted Kaczynski’s crimes?
The film explores experiences that influenced Kaczynski’s development but does not present them as justification for his crimes or the bombing campaign.
Is ‘Unabomber’ worth watching?
‘Unabomber’ is worth considering for true-crime viewers, particularly for Tremblay and Crowe’s performances, although its compressed investigation and uneven storytelling may limit its overall impact.
