Tweet
Released By: Lionsgate
Released On: 09/17/2013
Director: Henry-Alex Rubin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Alexander Skarsgard
Year: 2012
Purchase From Amazon
The Film:
Back in a pre-internet high school, our English teacher had us read a short story about a future where the human race lived in concrete pods, placed within feet of each other but separated by thick walls, their only method of communication taking place through a 2-way computer network. At the time, the class drew comparisons to the current downslide of human interaction due to televisions, VCRs, and a brand-new handheld device called the Game Boy. Prior to this, it was a commonly stated opinion that cable television, home video game consoles such as the Atari 2600, and any other personal electronic device were responsible for the breakdown of conversation, and even the family unit. And so, it makes perfect sense that the internet and smartphones are demons of the day, especially when mass-production has placed one or the other and sometimes both in the hands of just about everyone capable of using them. The whole point of this paragraph, you may ask? Simply put, this is nothing new.
Why, then, would somebody make a film about the breakdown of communication and call it something as obvious as Disconnect? With the words "Look Up" splashed across the poster art, it's obvious that Writer Andrew Stern and Henry-Alex Rubin think that they're saying something very important...like we should all just put down our phones and realize that conversation and human connection are right across the table. And sure, that's a very valid point. But like stand-up comedians who base entire routines on making jokes about the obvious ("Ever notice how cats stare at you different than dogs?"), Disconnect drags us into almost 2 hours of "No shit, Sherlock", utilizing some of the most extreme and ridiculous examples it can.
Ridiculous example number one follows the story of Kyle, who makes his living "performing" for a webcam service. Not only does Kyle make money doing this, he is part of a webcam porn ring, run by a creepy older man who baits underage kids into living at his house and entertaining paying customers across the internet in a variety of interesting ways. Anxious for a story, reporter Nina Dunham makes contact with Kyle, hoping to convince him to tell his tale to her cameraman. But Kyle is much more comfortable in front of the lens where he doesn't have to interact with real people ,and is reluctant to leave the life.
Across town, Derek and Cindy have problems relating to each other after the death of their child. While Derek would rather play online poker in a hotel room on business trips than talk to his wife, Cindy finds comfort in the words of another man in a survivors of grief chat room. Unfortunately for Cindy, her computer is hacked while chatting with her online friend, and Derek notices that their bank accounts have been emptied. As a private investigator goes through the details of the hacking and reveals his findings to them, the couple are forced to confront their lack of intimacy and involvement and may have to work together to solve the issue.
As contrived as THAT one sounds, it's nowhere near as insulting as a related story involving a shy, artistic high school student who is afraid to talk to girls in class; when he's baited by two other cyber-bullies into sending a naked picture of himself through a social media site the resulting mockery ends in a suicide attempt, which forces his family to come together and acknowledge that they've been drifting apart for some time. There may be lessons to be learned, and if you stick around through 90+ minutes of the running time, you will witness them.
It's funny, Disconnect doesn't LOOK like an ABC After-School Special; there are some great actors here, including Skarsgard and one of my favourites, Jason Bateman, not to mention some solid, more recent talent in the form of Colin Ford and Max Theiriot, and it looks overall like a well-produced piece of product. It's amazing, however, that such an amateur idea (and writing) ever got out of the gate; Stern and Rubin don't present ideas here, they roll them up like a lead newspaper and smack you in the teeth with them. This technique would probably work well with controversial material, or some new, unheard of concept, but really? People don't talk to each other anymore and would rather be online? Look up? Come on. In this day and age, when Hollywood is being attacked for unimaginative remakes because they lack creativity, the last thing that filmgoers need is for the Independents to crank out lazy product like Disconnect.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Lionsgate definitely gets points for the presentation on this blu-ray; the 1.78:1 transfer looks fantastic, with deep blacks and a nice range of colours that seem tailor-made to the individual stories. There are no issues to speak of visually, the picture is crisp and clear, what you would expect from a high-def presentation. The audio is largely problem-free as well, though I found the webcam conversation between Kyle and Nina to be extremely quiet, resulting in an increase in volume that terrified the dog when the rest of the film kicked in. This problem aside, the sound is solid, with good use of the surrounds and sub when appropriate.
The first extra is Making The Connections, a Behind The Scenes look at the film that runs almost 30 minutes long. Producer William Horberg, writer Andrew Stern, and director Henry-Alex Rubin are on hand to discuss the making of the film, including the fact that they were suddenly surprised to realize that people were not relating and instead concentrating on their smartphones, and had to make a movie about it. More interesting are conversations with some of the actors, including Jason Bateman who discusses working on a drama film instead of a comedy.
Recording Session On The Nature of Daylight runs about 4 minutes, and shows a small orchestra in the studio recording a portion of the soundtrack.
A commentary with Director Henry-Alex Rubin covers some casting information and some stories about working with the actor, but many will be put off by the director literally describing what is happening on the screen; a LOT.
A trailer for the film, as well as some previews from other Lionsgate releases round out the extras.
The Final Word:
Different strokes, I suppose, and there are probably some people out there who will think that Disconnect has something to say that they think is worth saying. But I think it's fairly safe to say that most folks will find it heavy-handed and self-important.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
Read it here, clydes: http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/prajlich/forster.html
Footnote fetishism.