I am a huge Steven Spielberg fan! “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.” are two of my favorite sci-fi films. I was really looking forward to seeing “Disclosure Day,” which, from the trailer, appeared to be about how the world would react to the definitive knowledge that we weren’t alone in the universe. I think that theme would have made a more interesting film than the one Noah and I saw on Friday. (I discussed this movie with Noah, so some of this content is from his perspective, too.) Unfortunately, the movie ends with the disclosure and the whole film is about trying to get the evidence about alien encounters released to the public. It’s a good movie, primarily with exciting chase scenes, but I’d rank it in the lower third of Spielberg films.
First, the brief good news. The film is entertaining, although 45 minutes could easily have been cut. Emily Blunt gives an excellent performance. There is one great chase scene, involving a train, that is worth seeing on the B.S. This movie is very hard to discuss without spoilers, so please forgive my vagueness in this review. Regretfully, I can’t give a full “disclosure” of the plot.
Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), now in his 30’s, was an ordinary 15-year-old when he suddenly became a mathematical genius. He now works for Wardex, a private security company run by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth). Daniel and some other Wardex employees have secretly defected and plan to release to the public all the evidence about alien encounters since the 1947 Roswell incident. This rebel group is led by Hugo (Colman Domingo). They think the world has a right to know that aliens exist, while Noah thinks this knowledge will be very destructive to the world, causing all kinds of chaos. The film starts out with Daniel being threatened into giving up the stolen alien evidence by Noah, who has kidnapped Daniel’s girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson). Daniel has a mysterious alien weapon with him and is able to escape, along with Jane, because of its power. (Daniel doesn’t use the weapon, so what it is capable of doing is a mystery).
Margaret Fairchild (Blunt) is a meteorologist working for a local Kansas City TV station. She lives with her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell), who is a singer/songwriter. Wyatt is happy living there, while Margaret feels restless and has bigger ambitions. They have recently moved from another city and Wyatt is frustrated with Margaret’s need for the “geographic cure.” The morning after Daniel and Jane escape from Noah, while having breakfast, a cardinal flies through Margaret’s and Daniel’s open window, lands on their kitchen table, and looks deeply into her eyes. Soon, Margaret develops extraordinary powers! (I think Margaret should have been living in St. Louis if a cardinal was going to be so important!)
The remainder of the film is Noah trying to get the alien evidence back from Daniel, as well as Margaret and Daniel linking up for some cosmic reason. Much of the film involves Noah’s team chasing Daniel & Jane or Daniel & Margaret. There was a brief reference to the question of whether the knowledge of alien life would shake our religious foundations (Jane had previously been a nun). The question of whether or not the aliens would be helpful or harmful is implied, but not elaborated upon sufficiently to be of much interest.
As a personal aside, assuming there are aliens out there, I am tired of their playing hide and seek, although I am sure they have their reasons. Call me crazy, but I think they should show some courage and “come out of the saucer!” In my fantasy, if the aliens appeared today, this is how I wish it would play out: The aliens land their flying saucer on the White House lawn. Their leader comes out of the saucer and says something like: “People of the world. We are from the other side of the Milky Way, more than 100,000 light years from Earth. Yours is the only other planet we have discovered so far with life on it. Amazingly enough, we both play soccer! We would like to play the winner of this year’s ‘World Cup’ to see who is the ‘Milky Way Soccer Champion!’ In exchange for your hospitality, we will give you advanced medical knowledge to cure diseases, such as A.L.S., R.A., Schizophrenia, and others. We haven’t had a war on our planet in over 50,000 years, so we will also give you helpful pointers on conflict resolution!”
However, on a cautionary note, they might have sinister intentions, such as in the classic “Twilight Zone” episode, “To Serve Man” (3/2/62 -Season 3, Episode 24 – streaming on Paramount+).
){kind=link}
