Captivating movie !

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

i finally saw this film after many years of fighting it. the subject is a friend of a friend and i had heard it was absolute rubbish (the film as well as his sad alleged amnesia). one could spend hours -- truly well-spent time -- discussing the themes of identity, responsibility and reality and a film of this nature should indeed explore those themes, in order to be a satisfying work of art. however, UWM is so amateur. and it seems to overtly avoid going into depth so as to not expose what is actually at the heart of it: a bored, self-amused man wanted to change his life (and personality) and did so in a very, very dramatic way (oh but oops, without any reporters on the police blotters picking it up...)

I picked this up when browsing in Borders (others shops are available) and a quick glance at the box won me over. I took it to the counter expecting it to be a fictional piece or at most a movie based on true events.From the start I was fixated, the doubt in my own mind about whether or not it was true and why it wouldn't be kept me watching to see just how it panned out.The fear he must've felt when he 'woke up' must've been unbearable. Doug clearly has a very strong character, or the new Doug does. Not knowing who your own friends are, what you'd shared together or even whether they are good friends is all based on instinct, past letters/emails and tales. Could you cope as well as Doug? Very very interesting piece.

really nice made fake. makes you feel so Disney.the discussion about whether it is true or not: who gives a sh*t about one rich git having no problems after all, living in a loft, without need to work or earn his daily bread? does it matter if such ignorant would lose his memory? pffffft. there are millions of people i would care more about. so many children dying every second, and one "emotionalized" something should make me think, sympathize or similar? no way...the "amnesia person" played in the "documentary" does not care himself, about his past, so why worry? no priceless info lost for the mankind after all. along with this perfectly forgettable spoof.get a life, people!

There is a lot of debate about how real this story is. I'd first like point out that no movie or TV show is reality. Everything is shot and edited to convey the story that someone wants to tell you. Are Michael Moore's movies real? They are documentaries but they are telling a story that he wants you to hear. Is The Real World reality? It's a bunch of people trying to go about their lives with cameras in their faces that is then severely edited to tell a story that someone thinks will be entertaining.With that said, Unknown White Male kept me engrossed for 90 minutes and made me think the entire time...which is more then 99% of the garbage that is out there today. The movie plays out like a study in philosophy. The "new" Doug seems like a great guy and his friends and family can't help but like him even though they wish he was the "old" Doug. The more you find out, the more you realize that he had a great life before he lost his memory and that is one of the interesting questions this movie brings up. Is it possible to lead two completely different existences that are equally as good and fulfilling? Is life better when you have no expectations and more importantly: nobody in the world has expectations of you? Within the world of the movie the thought will always be there whether Doug is faking this all to escape his old life. And the question will be there whether or the whole story was created for the sake of making the movie. Sure there are holes in the story, but I say it's still a great story.