Coulda, woulda, shoulda...
Gosh, I cried.
This film had so much going for it. Great actors and actresses. Great performances. Utterly phenomenal production values. Each one of these made for enormous potential. However...
One of the risks of presenting a 'message' in the form of a movie -for the general public- is that the message is paramount, not the actual story.
And -for me- this is what happened with 'Unconditional'.
The story just wasn't as good as it deserved to be. (Less a story than a situation.)
Too many aspects 'on the nose'. (In other words, too obvious. Lacking finesse. Sacrificing story to message.)
Too many aspects of story that required a suspension of disbelief beyond the norm. (Again, to suit the message.)
Yes, I'm looking at things from a different point-of-view than the 'average' viewer. Because I'm a writer. But I can tell you that when elements either don't line up, or they're simply mis-chosen, then on a subconscious level, the viewer (or reader) isn't grabbed in the way they might have been.
A great film is engaging. Providing conflict that needs to be overcome, so that the viewer is invested in the outcome.
Message movies don't have to worry about this stuff. Because the message is paramount (and it clearly was in this instance).
Don't get me wrong: it's a fine effort. A really, really fine effort. And everyone involved should be very proud of the end result. But -again, to me- the script was not ready for shooting. If it had been revised -and when I say this, I'm not referring to enormous changes- it could have been the kind of film that breaks through into mainstream success.
Good luck to the writer/director in his next efforts.
Oh, and Ms Collins? You deserve to have more success and provided more opportunities to shine in your career. I see only fantastic things ahead.