Disclosure Day has more in common with a chase film than it does a traditional sci-fi film. After stealing decades worth of evidence of the existence and mistreatment of aliens, Daniel, played by Josh O’Connor, is on the run from both the government and his former boss Noah, played by Colin Firth. Meanwhile meteorologist Margret, played by Emily Blunt, finds her self experiencing a sudden onset of being psychic and being able to speak every language including alien which she does during the weather forecast which makes her the target of Noah as well so she too finds herself on the run.
Watching Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day feels like watching one of film’s greatest auteurs struggling to find the optimism in a world that’s bent on crushing it. There’s always been an inherit belief in Spielberg’s work that in the end, no matter how bleak things get, that people’s kindness will triumph over the evil. But how does one reconcile that optimism in a time period where the powers that be consistently reward evil and cruelty? So when the film presents the idea that humanity can be united over the reveal of a truth far greater than any of us it can come across as woefully misguided under any other filmmaker. But dammit does Spielberg makes his case for his optimism and it’s hard to walk away from Disclosure Day not feeling touched by his plea for unity. And it’s harder to not be reminded that Spielberg is one of the greatest to ever do it because once again Spielberg has given us what will be another blockbuster classic.
From the opening sequence following Daniel being pursued during a wrestling match to an all timer scene involving a car, a train, and a bad guy with a gun (best to leave that one up to the imagination) it’s genuinely awe-inspiring how easy Spielberg makes movie-making look. Him and long-term cinematographer Janusz Kamiński manage to make simple scenes like a character sitting in a motel room absolutely breathtaking with how characters are framed and the way lights and shadows bath the room like an old-fashioned noir film.
Despite how much fun Disclosure Day is with its thrilling action set-pieces there’s an underlying bleakness to the affair. The world is on the brink of WWIII and the evidence of said aliens is not as shocking as due to the proof of their existence but moreso that humanity is performing genocide on them. And that bleakness can feel overpowering especially with its villains who have unlimited resources and omnipresent surveillance that feels too much like a mirror to the real world. But it leads to a finale that while isn’t as explosive as you might expect from a film of this scale, and maybe too abrupt for some viewers, to me it felt cathartic and urgent with the simplicity in its message. And it’s one I think that all need right now.
5/5
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