Detachment
DIRECTOR: Tony Kaye
CAST: Adrien Brody, James Caan, Lucy Liu, Christina Hendricks, Sami Gayle, Bryan Cranston, Blythe Danner,Tim Blake Nelson
CLASSIFICATION: 16 L
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes
RATING: ****
SOMEONE please take Adrien Brody home and give him a hug, because this was just depressing.
To be fair, the film’s story is well-told, beautifully framed and passionate in trying to get the message across.
But it is so sad and with only the slightest glimmer of hope towards the end, it skirts very closely to total nihilism, never giving a solution to the problem presented.
Aided by a strong cast, Adrien Brody paints a picture of the defunct side of the US schooling system, playing a substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. The theme of the story is the detachment he experiences, the way he floats through life, never making a connection.
A three-week stint at one particular institution gives us the rundown on the apathy of students and teachers alike, but it also brings Henry in contact with three very different women. There is the lonely, artistic student Meredith (Betty Kaye), fellow teacher, just as detached in her own way, Sarah Madison (Hendricks), and Erica (Gayle) a naive streetkid parading as a prostitute, befriended by Henry in a big-brotherly way.
Director Tony Kaye (American History X) concentrates on the relationships Henry establishes with the three which force him to re-evaluate himself, but gives supporting characters enough space to create compelling characters. Lucy Liu and James Caan have their moments as empathetic guidance counsellor and the teacher who uses humour (and plenty of pills) to get through the day, and who realises the worth in saying “thank you”.
Marcia Gay Harden gives a nuanced study as a principal hardened by years of toil, and about to be dismissed due to low test scores – though to be fair, it is not just the faculties that are troubled – we’re talking students bordering on the psychopathic, and angry parents.
Henry appears to take it all in his stride, but when he is on his own, you see that he is not really balanced.
He may care deeply about his own grandfather, but is quick to anger and refuses to connect with people because this would potentially mean getting hurt.
Tracks by artists such as Ray LaMontagne and The Newton Brothers’ emotionally charged scores serve to intensify the relentlessness of all the bad things that happen to people who care.
While you can tell where the plot is heading, the disjointed and dark aesthetic is layered and the experience is gut-wrenching.
If you liked Half Nelson or The Hunt you will like this.