Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Unrequited (2004) User Reviews

Killing For Her First Big Moment

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 20 May 2007]

Vincent Donofrio as quirky Major Case Squad detective Robert Goren has his share of loyal fans me included. Donofrio in Goren has created a character we all love to see him go through almost Monk like shtick every week in solving crimes. It's a great part, that allows Donofrio to do all kinds of overacting and stay completely within character.

But in this particular episode of Criminal Intent, Donofrio was given a run for his money in the overacting department by Claire Bloom. She has a part that if Criminal Intent were on the big screen some fifty years ago, Bette Davis or Tallulah Bankhead would have killed to have gotten this role.

This episode, almost but not quite, descends into black comedy. She's a stagestruck society matron who has her husband done in so she can use his millions to finance a comeback. Seems as though she was a budding child performer back in the day who never got her big break.

Her ally in this scheme is this nebbish of a former limousine driver and minor Broadway fixer played by Casey Siemaszko. He's also neck deep in debt to a loan sharks headed by his former boss Sal Richards. Siemaszko's role also calls for a whole lot of shtick and he has to use it all to keep up with Bloom.

When you're giving Vincent Donofrio a lesson in histrionics you know you have to be enjoying it. I'll bet Claire Bloom LOVED this part and it shows in her performance.

But I really do think that with a little rewriting and elaboration this story would work great as black comedy on the big screen.

A Need For A Dream

[pepper_f · 9/10 · 8 April 2022]

An anonymous letter claims that an actor's husband was poisoned which causes his body to be exhumed.

This is, honestly, a GREAT episode. I remember having fond memories of it on first watch and on re-watch, it got even better for me. I really like how the antagonists are characterized what with one needing to be pleased and another wanting to be famous. I do like their scenes as well, there is a lot of tension in the plot as well which I liked. I also liked how unique the plot is since it doesn't involve a dead body being found as well.

I also liked the final confession scene with Goren trying to make both antagonists feel betrayed.

Overall, this is a really great episode because of its characterization, unique plot, and of course, Goren's tactics in the final scene.

An excellent episode, but confusion at the end

[neroid · 9/10 · 6 November 2023]

This is a very good episode, and as the other reviews point out, Claire Bloom has a part that I'm pretty sure she enjoyed quite a bit. I know I did. Casey Siezmanko and Rebecca Shull are excellent as well. And the dig at Actors Equity -- that they'll keep old publicity photos around as long as you keep paying dues was a nice touch.

But there seems to be an obvious problem at the very end. Harvey is out on bail (temporary bail to be sure, as Goren has discovered) and he is wearing his ankle bracelet as required by the court.

When Goren arrests Harvey at the end, what is he arresting him for? He has already been arraigned for both murders. He's out on bail.

Lost dreams and greed

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 3 August 2020]

The story for "Unrequited" sounds so great on paper, and seeing it so highly regarded among fans (or at least in the sources read) is lovely to see. Loved it first time and it gets better with each watch, with even more to appreciate each time. Which has been the beauty of re-watching episodes over-time of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' (and the original 'Law and Order' and 'Special Victims Unit'), or at least in most cases. The show is not immune from disappointments, but at its best it is superb.

Which is the case with "Unrequited". To me, it is a high-point of Season 3 and the best of the season easily up to this point (the first superb one). All the previous episodes of the season are still worth watching, but did suffer a little from missing the chemistry between Goren and Eames and Eames' temporary replacement Bishop not being as interesting a character. With "Unrequited", it hugely benefits from having Eames back, seeing the spark back in the character interaction and for having a subject that connected with me from the get go and not feeling iffy about on paper.

All the good things about 'Criminal Intent' in general are here and done to brilliant effect, in a way that didn't fare quite as strongly in the previous Season 3 episodes. Vincent D'Onofrio is delightful, which was hardly a surprise, the hard-boiled intensity and neurotic quirkiness he always brought to this fascinating character never ceased to be riveting and he is exactly that here and more. He didn't just play Goren or just cited the lines correctly, he always completely lived his meaty material.

Kathryn Erbe makes a more than welcome return after her absence was felt deeply (Bishop just wasn't the same in my view), and it was so great to see Eames and Goren back together and see the missed full spark back. On top of them we have three great guest star performances that are all in the better group of performances from Season 3.

Casey Siemaszko succeeds in not making his potentially annoying character annoying and is quite fun. Rebecca Schull is wonderfully crusty and formidable. Claire Bloom (another interest point, have always liked her) has the juiciest role and was clearly having huge fun, the Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead mentions are apt.

"Unrequited" is well made on a visual level, the photography having the right amount of slickness and muted grit. It's not flashy or expansive, but 'Criminal Intent' is not that kind of show. The music is non-constant and doesn't get overwrought. The script is one of the most deliciously entertaining, capturing the spirit of the 40s melodramas perfectly, without falling into the potential traps, while also still being vintage 'Criminal Intent' with Goren's dialogue and the interaction between him and Eames. The story is always absorbing and is darkly fun and with tension.

All in all, a superb episode and one of the best of the season. 10/10

Moving parts don't fit together

[mgl-92037 · 7/10 · 20 February 2024]

I find this episode successful as a character study, but not as a crime story. The two killers are involved in a symbiotic relationship, but actually poorly serve each other's needs. The climax of the episode, when their respective murders are revealed, is powerful. Although my main complaint is about the criminal element of the story, I have to remark that Claire Bloom's overpowered her role. She comes across as an aging diva sliding into oblivion rather than a desperate never was. The acting for the role of Harvey was very interesting, and to me credible.

So, there were good elements here, but I felt the details of the criminal acts were not fleshed out enough. I didn't find the exposition of the investigation compelling.

In summary, this is a good episode, but for me it ranks in the middle of the pack, and is not one of the superior episodes.