Jay Rohr
Disclosure Day puts a line in the sand. The first full-length feature from Steven Spielberg since 2022, this sci-fi adventure is likely to divide viewers. Those who enjoy it will delight in a light genre escapade with a touch of cinematic sizzle, while others risk cynical overdose on a strong shot of disappointment.
Disclosure Day begins with the hot pursuit of a whistleblower. Outwitting the shadowy forces behind a global coverup, things become a desperate race to avoid detection until an unfathomable truth can be revealed to the world. Enter weather reporter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who becomes the key to making that happen. Pulled by the inexorable flow of destiny, she must quickly come to terms with her place at the center of historical events. All the while, an evil corporation makes moves to keep the world in the dark.
Conceptually, the movie is a pastiche of multiple sci-fi plots seen in a variety of films for almost a century. That would be fine if Disclosure Day did anything unique, or somehow contemporized things. Since it doesn’t, the picture can only be appealing to those largely unfamiliar with the genre. Basically, the few folks who won’t recognize plot points from other films which have done more with the concepts wasted here.
Based on a story idea from Spielberg, screenwriter David Koepp has achieved unique success here by putting together a movie that allows for all the dialogue to be exposition and declarative. At risk of spoilers, early on, a main character gains psychic powers which results in them simply declaring who characters are. After risking one or two interpersonal exchanges where people talk like people, Disclosure Day shifts quickly into the psychic just saying who people are and their roles in the plot.
Furthermore, Koepp has crafted the illusion of a powerful heroine. Critical as the character is to the film’s outcome, Blunt’s Fairchild makes no choices throughout the movie. This lack of agency is acknowledged by her when she literally says she’s not making any decisions, she’s simply going with the flow. Even when she regains choice, Blunt’s character opts for the precluded outcome her status as chosen one has destined her to fulfill. In essence, she is a puppet at peace on her strings.
Thematically Disclosure Day wants to wade into deep waters. These include notions of religion, empathy, and humanity’s place in the cosmos. While most of Spielberg’s movies are blatant with their metaphors, the lack of subtlety here is like a handshake with a hot waffle iron. At one point, Colman Domingo (Michael), who could give pathos to a recitation of an IHOP menu, is given a fistful of themes to jam down the viewer’s throat in a monologue that makes sure no one mistakes what this movie is preaching.
Granted, the ideas aren’t bad, the world could certainly use more empathy. It’s the patronizing and blunt ways Disclosure Day delivers them that scrapes the urethra. The movie often treats the audience like children refusing their vegetables. That said, I’m sure there will be viewers nodding in agreement with certain sentiments.
Along the way, Disclosure Day tries to break up its periods of telling by showing action. These segments are a mixed bag. Several look splendid. There’s the idea of a thrill in many set pieces. However, the characters at risk aren’t developed enough for viewers to care what happens to them, and even when main players are in danger, they never seem in genuine jeopardy. That’s because the film’s outcome has been obvious since the first trailer. It also doesn’t help that people often make the most moronic decisions possible just to force outcomes.
What’s known as the idiot plot runs rampant throughout Disclosure Day. As such, what’re supposed to be suspenseful moments often turn into ludicrous instances, resulting in frequent bathos like when an action segment becomes an episode of the Three Stooges. I felt an aneurysm-inducing disbelief when a character holding a smartphone essentially called someone to ask them to look up something online.
Fortunately, Spielberg composes a great-looking film. There is nothing negative to say about the appearance of this picture. In fact, there are even several subtle nods to other sci-fi flicks he’s directed before. The linoleum walls in a kitchen are reminiscent of the one in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Wyatt Russell (Lodge 49) wears a leather jacket similar, though not exactly the same, as Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds. Then one scene mirrors the sickly green cinematography of Minority Report.
The legendary director is also a master at the use of camera angles to inspire moods. The blocking is exemplary placing characters exactly where they need to be. In addition, there are several fabulous long tracking shots; Disclosure Day is a master class in minimal editing cuts.
The cast is ideal though poorly used. Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) has some amazing moments despite her role’s total lack of agency. Josh O’Connor (Challengers) plays the two notes he’s allowed well, though they do get tiresome, and considering how varied his emotions were in Wake Up Dead Man, it seems like a director’s instruction rather than a performer’s choice. Colin Firth (Empire of Light) almost brings an air of tragedy to the conspiracy’s sinister leader, if the film explored his character at all. Meanwhile, Colman Domingo borders on a blend of narrator and GPS as he tells others what to do.
Disclosure Day seems designed for an audience unfamiliar with the myriad plot threads it’s pulled from several sci-fi sources. In that case, perhaps a young adult crowd as well as science fiction fans will see beyond the utter lack of originality to enjoy its mild action and bluntly delivered themes. That said, for Steven Spielberg, with all the resources at his disposal, to tell such a trite tale is a letdown. Although visually fantastic, the mediocre narrative never takes risks it seems inclined toward. Disclosure Day delivers dull distractions instead of the deep delights it desires.
