Unabomber (2026) is the latest on-screen iteration of the Ted Kaczynski story. However, the most interesting part of this film does not feature much of Ted at all.
The Netflix original follows two timelines: one takes place in the ‘90s during the investigation of the ‘Unabomber’ terrorist, and the other is set in the late 1950s, following Kaczynski’s time at Harvard. The storyline about Kaczynski’s youth and the experimentation he participated in were interesting, and mostly unprecedented for ‘Unabomber’ documentaries and films. Jacob Tremblay’s performance was also very believable and engaging as a young Ted.
Despite this, the more fast-paced and captivating part of the film was the ‘current-day’ narrative. The central character of the film seemed to be FBI agent Joanne Miller (played by Shailene Woodley) rather than Ted Kaczynski, which is a welcome departure from the current trend of centring killers in true-crime stories. Still, this sometimes made the flashback portions feel slow and unnecessary, especially since it is unclear whether there is a link between the experiments in Kaczynski’s youth and his later terrorism.
The film did prompt me to do some more research into the subject, as my prior knowledge on the Unabomber was limited to his manifesto, and I was disappointed to learn that Joanne Miller is a fictional character. I still appreciated the integral role of women in the film and the choice to write the imagined FBI agent who caught the Unabomber as a woman, along with the scene which highlights that it was Kaczynski’s sister-in-law who realised who he was. The film was entertaining and an informative watch for those who may not know much about the case, but it could have been shorter and perhaps less disjointed at times.
Photo by Wolfgang Vrede on Unsplash.
