L to R: Colman Domingo is Hugo Wakefield, Tommy Martinez is Santiago, Emily Blunt is Margaret Fairchild, and Josh O'Connor is Dr. Daniel Kellner in DISCLOSURE DAY, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Courtney Howard // Film Critic
DISCLOSURE DAY
Rated PG-13, 2 hour and 25 minutes
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Hettienne Park, Courtney Grace
Spielberg and aliens. These two have been intrinsically entwined since CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIRST KIND made its debut in cinemas back in 1977. Over the next few decades of the affable auteur’s career, he’s returned to explore these otherworldly beings again and again, in films like E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL and WAR OF THE WORLDS. He frequently draws a connective line between unexplainable paranormal happenings and the psychology of human behaviors. Cover-ups and distrust also earn their narrative place in these films.
Now, more than ever, Spielberg (along with writer David Koepp) have brought these revisited story elements together in a visceral, explosive sci-fi feature, DISCLOSURE DAY. Centered on two strangers coming together to expose newly unearthed truths the government has kept hidden, the potent feature asks the audience to grapple with heady high concepts as well as delivering all the blockbuster appeal anyone could want from A Spielberg Movie. Smart, snappy and sentimental in all the right ways, its spellbinding magic delivers the goods.
The filmmakers don’t waste anytime dropping us into the action, mid-smackdown at a rousing wrestling match. As one face-off happens on stage, unbeknownst to patrons, there’s another taking place simultaneously in the stands between cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and Wardex corporate goons Boyd (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) and Serena (Hettienne Park). Daniel has stolen top secret information from his boss Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), who’s looking to trade the files along with an alien tech device for Daniel’s girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) he’s holding hostage. Daniel, of course gets away with the files, the dangerous doo-hickey and the girl, headed to a base of operations conducted by fellow ex-Wardex employee Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo).
Meanwhile in Kansas City, Missouri, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is about to experiencing a life-altering awakening. She’s a rolling stone that gathers no moss, whereas her unsupportive musician boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell) would like to put down roots. Mid-argument, they’re visited by a friendly red cardinal, who locks eyes with Margaret for a few minutes and is shooed away just before Margaret begins speaking perfect Russian. After reading a cop’s innermost thoughts during a routine traffic stop and attempting to translate Korean for a visiting dignitary, Margaret goes on air and, through a series of guttural clicks and clacks, delivers an encrypted message to viewers and faints. Turns out, she is wanted by Hugo’s crew too and needs to flee quickly to avoid capture by Wardex corporate goons and government authorities. As she’s brought together with Daniel, they find out their purpose is far bigger than anyone could’ve ever realized.
Everyone who’s seen THE FABLEMANS can see here that Spielberg is clearly not finished psycho-analyzing himself. And this sort of catharsis is much to our benefit. The train collision sequence feels like it’s a semi-recreation of what terrified him in his youth. This action set piece doubles a healing way of coming to terms with his own childhood trauma. He even has a scene that recreates a full scale childhood home to trigger a sense response from a certain character, as that’s what he experienced making his 2022 personal film. He’s also not afraid to repeat himself, as he does so in an innovative way that’s neither reductive of his past work, nor derivative of anything we’ve seen before on the whole. He’s at his best when he cloaks his sentiments and psycho-analysis in genre, toiling with the complexities of reality through science fiction he can control. Government conspiracies, intergalactic phenomena, as well as the push-pull between faith and facts, are reoccurring patterns – new mathematic equations where he solves them, re-parceling the problems with a different correct answer through a new prism.
All the awe-struck wonderment that accompanies classic Spielberg films is there in spades. Aesthetically, he and his team stage breathtaking shot after shot with vibrancy and a renewed sense of vitality. The Act One one-er showing Margaret arriving at her workplace, working with her new set of skills during her usual AM routine, jazzes up the mundane and increases audience anticipation for her life-shattering revelation. Later, the reflective surface of a knife held by Jane in the back of a squad car provides as much Hitchcockian suspense as any thriller in the master’s canon. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski nails lens flares with exacting prowess, demonstrating why they’re oft imitated and rarely duplicated with such skill. Composer John Williams’ soundscape is equally magnificent, setting the compelling calamity and compassion in the key of enchantment. His heartfelt timbre is best expressed in his softly symphonic piece that accompanies the scene where Margaret negotiates a tough crowd to rescue a captive Daniel by cloaking her visage with the personal faces of loved ones. His score augments the atmospheric undertones without being pushy or melodramatic.
There are very minor logistical items that need papering over to keep the narrative afloat. Why Hugo and his team of rebels only stole two out of the three of the alien tech devices Wardex had stashed in their safe makes no sense. Allowing the antagonist to keep one is primarily for Koepp to provide for the opportunity to have Scanlon do his mind “drop” trick – one of the film’s legitimately intriguing sequences when he invades Jane’s mental space, causing her great mental and physical anguish while she’s in a safe house. The powers the alien gadgetry contains changes, acting as a kind of get-out-of-jail card, or rather literal screenwriter device for Koepp to shuttle characters from point a to point b. In the 3rd act, having clueless news station employees state, “I don’t know why we’re doing this,” doesn’t make their participation any more believable to the audience. In fact, it draws attention to it, getting us to question these folks’ manipulated motivations.
O’Connor, while decent, takes a backseat to Blunt. She runs away with the show, elevating sparse aspects of her material, giving a performance filled with pathos and gravitas. She’s vulnerable, tender and strong. Her physicality changes, not just in her face when she comes into her newly unlocked superpowers, but in how she holds her body. Her sporadic meltdowns, in the train car with the pianos and later at Hugo’s staging site, plucks our heartstrings, effortlessly earning our empathy. Domingo handles exposition dumps expertly. His soothing baritone voice and professorial look (his graying beard and tweed jacket goes a long way to intone safety) add to his evocative dialogue delivery. Courtney Grace, who plays an NBC news anchor, delivers a brief, yet staggeringly impressive performance that runs the gamut of emotions and requires precise restraint.
Despite any nitpicks that arise, overall DISCLOSURE DAY succeeds in its aims. The hugely entertaining, epic and enriching spectacular wows the crowd in the theater, but also leaves thought-provoking departing gifts far after the final credits roll. Ending on a pseudo-LOST IN TRANSLATION inspired final send-off seems more at home in an M. Night Shyamalan film than here. However, that’s where Spielberg blissfully keeps us in a constant state of surprise. You don’t need to believe in aliens to truly understand the picture’s larger thematic scope. You only need to be of the faith that the almost octogenarian still holds the power to continue to make great cinema, challenge fundamental belief systems and be awestruck by the world around him.
Grade: 4.5 out of 5
DISCLOSURE DAY will release in theaters on June 12.
