Unrequited

Young man returns home after some time in a rehab/foster home. Partly because as a child he witnessed his father's suicide and his mother had problems. He finds out the girl he's had a crush on since before he went away has a boyfriend and he flips and kidnaps her.

The movie is only mildly interesting. The main reason is that there is nothing special about it; nothing that stands out. Most people have seen this type of movie before and probably better versions. So unless there is a new twist, some clever writing, great suspense and cast, there is no point unless you have nothing better to do (my excuse). In short, the movie is an uneventful walk through the park; a "TV level" or kind of movie and is where it should be viewed. Love, Boloxxxi.

After searching Michael Welch's IMDB work history (curiosity after coming to know him from the "Twilight" films), I came across his 2010 film, "Unrequited." After reading what the film was about, I was interested in seeing the movie but could not find it to watch anywhere. I recently spotted the movie being available on TUBI and although my enthusiasm to watch the movie had waned over the years, I gave it a try. It basically tells the story of Ben Jacobs, a young man recently released from rehab. Ben is released with hopes of reconnecting with a girl from his past whom he is deeply in love with. He also comes home to a mother who he tries to connect with and find comfort from but unfortunately she is somewhat of a hussy and does not appear to care very much for Ben. His father actually committed suicide when Ben was young. After discovering his love, Jessica, is involved with a young man named Todd and making a few attempts to win her back to no avail, he resorts to kidnapping her. He ultimately takes her to her parents cabin which is empty because they're out of town. Ben tries to show Jessica how much he loves her but of course having been taken away against her will, all Jessica really wants to do is escape.

I actually enjoyed this film. Good acting performances by both leads. There are some tense moments throughout Jessica's captivity which eventually lead to a climax. A climax that I pretty much already knew would happen after the first time I read what the film was about, only the climax happened differently than how I actually thought it would.

Overall it was a good film. I felt empathy for the character of Ben. His life starts to unravel after being released when the beloved horse he looked after while he was in rehab, dies. From there it just gets worse with his fruitless efforts to reconnect with his mother and getting shunned by the only girl he deeply loves, pushing Ben to resort to something deep down he did not want to do. It's actually a very sad movie, exploring how loneliness and lack of affection can sometimes have devastating effects if one doesn't know how to handle it. Unfortunately in this case, it got the better of Ben.