Disclosure Day
For a movie where every character is a plot device, Disclosure Day sure excels at eliciting investment in these thinly-sketched humans and their actions.
In his return to summer and alien filmmaking, Steven Spielberg remains firmly focused on delivering intelligently crafted thrills and chills in service of a grand mystery. And David Koepp’s screenplay keeps the pace cooking, sacrificing character development in tandem with that greater goal so well that it’s barely missed.
While yet another movie about E.T.s and shady authoritarian figures may sound overly familiar, Spielberg throws viewers into the story via something viewers have yet to see from him — the first-person perspective of a professional wrestler getting his ass whooped — and works in plenty of other creative twists as the narrative progresses.
Over the years, the director has depicted plenty of motivated individuals trying to outrace evil forces, though he's never featured someone quite like Kansas City meteorologist Margaret Fairchild.
Powered by Emily Blunt's best performance to date, this rare female Spielberg protagonist suddenly acquires a gift that allows her to read minds and speak seemingly every language — without realizing it. In conveying this wild ability, Blunt showcases impressive verbal dexterity but also immense empathy for those she’s “connecting” with as well as vulnerability when the weight of her new talent and the predicament overall becomes too heavy.
Disclosure Day also freshens up Spielberg's familiar government authority type with Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), head of the nefarious Wardex corporation, which has been suppressing proof of extraterrestrial life for decades. In tireless pursuit of rogue employee Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor, Challengers) and the damning evidence in his possession, Noah uses alien technology to “dive” on Daniel’s girlfriend Jane Blankenship (Eve Hewson, Flora and Son), possessing her in attempts to eliminate the threat at hand.
Terrifying in its nonconsensual invasiveness, “diving” is something new in Spielberg's filmography and effectively draws the line between good and evil — which only grow starker as Margaret gets pulled into the Wardex wars and, with help from fellow company underminer Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), discovers her connection to Daniel.
On their journey to a seemingly predestined location, multiple exciting and crisply filmed action sequences play out, none better than a harrowing encounter with a train. But a few goofy decisions also arise that are sure to delight the anti-Spielberg contingent.
The most egregious examples involve a car chase in which Daniel’s stolen vehicle apparently comes equipped with self-repairing tires that are immune to bullets. The sequence also includes a Wardex agent making an exaggerated facial expression before crashing that’s straight out of a Mel Brooks film, and a few self-referential Spielbergian details (e.g. the name of a motel where Daniel and Jane lay low) are borderline eye-roll worthy.
It’s also unfortunately a bit idealistic to suggest that folks today would care quite this deeply about proof that humans aren’t alone in the universe, and the suggestion that empathy is the solution to humanity’s woes is likewise somewhat unrealistic. This old-fashion optimism may be a tad out of touch with modern life and the result of the filmmakers’ privilege, but Spielberg has always been a dreamer and for those who’ve made it intact this far into his body of work, going along with his latest big beautiful vision is a pleasure.
Grade: A-minus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment)
