Disclosure Day
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell
Rating: ★★★⯪
There is a long-running internet joke that when ranking Spielberg films, one can describe a title as ‘seminal, industry-changing’ and then rank it at number 9 in his filmography. Such is the standard of the master filmmaker’s work that even films that one expects nothing but the best from him. Disclosure Day sees him return to the genre most personal to him – science fiction, specifically the search for extraterrestrial life. Naturally, the expectations are high. Spielberg fumbles, falters, but eventually finds his footing. The film is both a thrill-a-minute ride and a philosophical question about who is more dangerous to Earth – aliens or humans themselves. And Spielberg uses all his mastery to mask the faults and, eventually, deliver a climax sequence for the ages.
What is Disclosure Day?
For over 50 years, Steven Spielberg’s films have asked the question: ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ This film answers it, quite convincingly. No, we are not, and the world deserves to know. Disclosure Day opens in today’s world, on the brink of a global war. The US, North Korea, and all key players are at each other’s throats. Amid this, Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert, is on the run from Wardex, a corporation protecting knowledge about aliens. At the same time, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a Kansas meteorologist, develops uncanny abilities to speak any language in the world and read people’s minds. Margaret ‘senses’ that she needs to get to Daniel, and together, they may hold the key to not just change the world but save it. But can they do it before Wardex’s zealous head – Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) – gets to them? That forms the rest of the tale.
Spielberg replays all his big hits
On the surface, Disclosure Day seems like the next step to a lot of films Spielberg has made on the subject. There are bits of Close Encounters, ET, and even Minority Report in here. The narrative seems like a continuation of the almost-forgotten miniseries Taken (in which Spielberg was an executive producer). And it makes sense. This is a filmmaker revisiting his favourite genre at the ripe old age of 79. He has matured as much as any man and any filmmaker can. He looks at genres and themes from a new perspective now, making the alien story more rooted in the age of smartphones, AI, and Gen Z.
But the film is more than just a remix and upgrade of some of his previous work. At its core, it asks two basic questions: Who decides what information is to be withheld from the general public? And who is a bigger threat to the earth – aliens or us? Spielberg weaves these questions organically into the narrative, without sermonising or long monologues on ethics. The dialogue – even if heavy – feels natural, almost conversational. The filmmaker has mastered the art of showing something profound in the ordinary. He continues that run here.
Emily Blunt, the star
Emily Blunt plays a confused meteorologist so perfectly that one forgets how she has played confident women so easily earlier. As Margaret, she brings the vulnerability and chaos of her character’s psyche to the fore easily. Josh O’Connor feels a bit subdued but does well in parts. Colin Firth brings in all the suaveness of a Bond villain, but ultimately, he feels underused, as does Colman Domingo. If anyone apart from Emily gets a good deal here, it’s Eve Hewson, who nails it in a couple of scenes with Colin Firth.
The end that saves it all
Disclosure Day is far from Spielberg’s best. But as we established earlier. Even his ‘mid’ films are enough to be the best in any other director’s filmography. Disclosure Day is mid by Spielberg standards, but very good for any other filmmaker. It is slow, wastes some time on minor subplots, and builds up a villain for very little payoff. And yet, it is in that very climax that downplays its villain that the film is saved. In one of the more thrilling sequences in the last decade, Disclosure Day not only ups the stakes visually but also hits all the right notes emotionally. The sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
