The film stars Sandra Bullock as a woman who, following her release from prison after serving twenty years for committing murder, is determined to reunite with her estranged younger sister.

Vincent D'Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Richard Thomas, Linda Emond, Aisling Franciosi, Rob Morgan, and Viola Davis also star.

The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 24, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on December 10, 2021.

[citation needed] Ruth Slater is released from prison after serving twenty years for killing a sheriff who came to evict her and her five-year-old sister, Katie, from their home in Snohomish, Washington.

On the day of Ruth's release, Katie is involved in a car accident, and returns to her adoptive parents’ home to recover.

He plots revenge, but is unable to get his younger brother Steve on board, who constantly tells Keith to "leave it alone".

Emily, the younger adopted sister of Katie, overhears her parents talking about Ruth and discovers the letters.

Through flashbacks, it is revealed that it was the five-year-old Katie who had actually fired the shot that killed the sheriff, but Ruth took the blame, to protect her.

After learning about Katie, Steve becomes more insistent on the idea of revenge; however, he catches his brother Keith in bed with his wife and beats him in anger.

Christopher McQuarrie was hired to write the screenplay, which was being tailored for Angelina Jolie to play the lead role.

[4][5] In June 2013, it was reported that McQuarrie had returned to the film as writer and director, and would also serve as a producer with King.

[10] Vincent D'Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Richard Thomas, Linda Emond and Emma Nelson joined in February 2020.

[11] Principal photography began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, standing in for Seattle, on February 3, 2020, with plans to wrap on April 9.

[12][13][14] Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro shot the film with Red Digital Cinema Helium cameras and Arri Ultra Prime lenses, which he had previously used on Dolittle.

[19] Hans Zimmer and David Fleming reteamed to compose the film score, which was recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna.

The website's critics consensus reads: "The Unforgivable proves Sandra Bullock is more than capable of playing against type, but her performance is wasted on a contrived and unrelentingly grim story.