Unabomber toggles back and forth between FBI agent Joanne Miller’s (Shailene Woodley) efforts to capture Kaczynski in 1996—ending what was at the time the longest and most expensive investigation ever spearheaded by the bureau—and Kaczynski’s formative time at Harvard as a precocious math prodigy (Jacob Tremblay) in the late ’50s. Between these two timelines, there is a palpable tension between prioritizing entertainment or accuracy. For one, Miller is a complete fabrication, a beguiling choice considering that the film delves into the very real role that Kaczynski’s brother played in his eventual arrest by the FBI. This version of the Unabomber—an unkempt, paranoid recluse residing in the Montana wilderness—is hardly ever seen. Instead, we get to know the man as a gangly, insecure student, completely adrift within academia and his general place in the world.
While not necessarily common knowledge, there has been quite a bit of research into the impact that studying at Harvard had on Kaczynski, particularly as it pertains to an ethically dubious psychological study conducted by professor Henry Murray (a flat Russell Crowe) that he participated in. It would appear that Unabomber largely leans on Harvard And The Making Of The Unabomber by Alston Chase (who attended the school at the same time as Kaczynski), which exposes the cruelty that the young man was subjected to while enrolled in the study. In the wake of the Korean War, Professor Murray sought to prove whether a man’s firmest beliefs can be upheld even under intense emotional stress. (“I bet you just look down at that tiny little dick of yours and just wish it would fall off,” sneers an unpleasant anonymous interviewer at Kaczynski during one such experiment.) As it turns out, efforts to assess an impervious American attitude ended up backfiring, big time. The key thesis of Chase’s book—the research of which includes intensive correspondence with an incarcerated Kaczynski—is that his 200 hours spent as a test subject effectively turned him against science and society writ large, pushing him to resort to violence as a means of direct action.
Yet the most compelling components of this text aren’t really present in Unabomber, which nods toward identifying details of the experiment but shirks from engaging with its psychological implications. Rather, banal story beats rely too heavily on Kaczynski’s dating difficulties and inherent introversion, and not how these already present insecurities may have been intensified. Indeed, even long after his capture, Kaczynski struggled with his mental health, eventually dying by suicide in 2023 at the age of 81. Instead of delving into the full breadth of Kaczynski’s psychological background, Unabomber is content with generic “abusive dad” flashbacks and simplified “frigid mother” anecdotes.
A Netflix dramatization of Kaczynski’s life, no matter the time period, would never be as faithful or scrutinizing as would be necessary to engage with the legacy of the Unabomber. Frankly, a project that actually engaged with his philosophy would probably result in a good deal of subscribers being put on government watchlists. But it’s nonetheless quasi-insulting that the film ends with a recorded interview with Kaczynski, in which he states, in a disarmingly soft voice: “My personal preference is to be depicted truthfully…To me, the main thing is to get rid of the industrial system by whatever means necessary.” For a film that is neither particularly truthful nor sympathetic to Kaczynski’s desperate need to question the cost of technological advancement, it’s an odd—if accidentally resonant—note to end on.
Director: Janus Metz Pedersen
Writer: Sam Chalsen, Nelson Greaves
Starring: Russell Crowe, Jacob Tremblay, Annabelle Wallis, Shailene Woodley
Release Date: September 25, 2026 (Netflix)
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