[yasr_overall_rating]
An in-depth look at how an FBI profiler helped track down the Unabomber.
“Manhunt: Unabomber” was a particularly interesting watch for me for the simple fact that everything I ever associated with the “Unabomber” was related to jokes and something about how Weird Al Yankovic resembled the famous police sketching. I never associated the Unabomber with being a real person, growing up it was as if he were merely a myth. He was a warning to parents to be sure you raise your kids in proper flourishing social environments so they don’t turn out like the Unabomber; a figure of ridicule, a canker on American idealism. So, it was interesting to get a glimpse into what the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was all about. And I was surprised to see that Discovery’s “Manhunt: Unabomber” gives us a balanced, if not at times sympathetic, perspective. Don’t get me wrong, this is by no means a portrait of Ted Kaczynski, but rather, as the title suggests, a series focused on the search for the Unabomber and the discovery of him by unconventional means.
The opening of the series starts with a couple of men knocking on the door of a man who is living in isolation in the woods who happens to be FBI profiler Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington) who played a large part in catching Ted Kaczynski (Paul Bettany). It’s apparent from the outset that something happened during the case that made him desert his family and live alone in the woods. Spoiler: he digs Ted Kaczynski’s ideology/manifesto. The series doesn’t delve into this too deeply. I can only assume they threw this tidbit in to make Fitz more interesting and to help play-up the humanity of Ted and ignite conflicting sympathies within the audience. But anyway, the FBI needs Fitz to come with them because they need him to convince Unabomber Ted Kaczynski to just plead guilty to avoid a trial, media circus, and to avoid giving a domestic terrorist a platform to possibly infect other people with his ideas. Ted will only speak to the man who caught him. So, next thing you know mountain man Fitz is now clean-shaven, suited and sitting in front of the Unabomber.
The series is a slow start. It jumps back and forth in time to slowly unravel the unusual and remarkable way the Unabomber was finally nabbed. And long story short: the Unabomber was caught because of his particular use of language (his idiolect) in his letters and manifesto. The concept of forensic linguistics was born and Fitz was the main man behind it. Half of the series focuses on whether or not forensic linguistics is a thing and can it actually be used in lieu of more tangible evidence. Well, we all know now that the answer is yes and yes. And while the concept of language taking down a terrorist is fundamentally awesome, it was not nearly as thrilling to watch it being acted out.
Truthfully, only the scenes that involve Paul Bettany bring life to the series. Sam Worthington as FBI profiler Fitz does put in a good effort but just lacks vitality. But I’m not sure if it is entirely his fault as all the actors that were FBI agents (Chris Noth & Jeremy Bobb) may as well have been cardboard cutouts with pull-strings that yelled, “Get it done!” all the time. They fulfill a function but neglect to bring any emotional depth to their roles while Bettany’s performance is all flesh and blood.
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