Review of the series «Disclaimer»

On November 8, the 7-episode psychological thriller ended on the Apple TV+ streaming service «Disclaimer» starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. The story is based on the novel of the same name by Renee Knight, which appeared on bookstore shelves in 2015. The project was written and directed by Oscar-winning Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón («Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban», «Children of Men», «Gravity»). In the review below, we will tell you what the viewer can expect when getting acquainted with this intricate story.

«Disclaimer»

Genre psychological thriller, drama
Director Alfonso Cuarón
Starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Leila George, Sacha Baron Cohen, Adam El Hagar, Leslie Manville, Louis Partridge, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Indira Varma
Premiere Apple TV+
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb

Everything seems to be going great for popular journalist and documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft: she lives in a beautiful house in London, has a loving husband, Robert, an adult son, Nicholas, and has just recently won a prestigious award for her work. But everything changes dramatically the moment she receives a package with a mysterious book «The Perfect Stranger». Its author dedicated the novel to his son Jonathan and warned that all coincidences with real people, living or dead, are not accidental (this is the disclaimer included in the series title).

After reading the contents, the protagonist is horrified to discover that the novel describes tragic events in her life that happened 20 years ago during a vacation in Italy. The situation is complicated by the fact that Catherine is not shown in the best light in the novel. The plot of the book reveals a terrible secret that she has been hiding for many years. So when the truth finally comes out, Katherine will fully experience the wrath of the person she is guilty of. And it risks destroying her entire life.After his Oscar-winning «Roma» (2018), Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón has been quiet for a long time. Only after six long years of silence does he return to big cinema, not with another technically perfect blockbuster, but with a 7-episode show based on a tabloid reading. At the same time, Cuarón wrote the script for all the episodes himself and directed them himself, enlisting the support of cinematographers Bruno Delbonnel and his old friend Emmanuel Lubezki. And the Apple money allowed him to attract stars of the caliber of Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline to the project.

From the very first shot, the authors offer an interesting camera cut, when the viewer’s attention moves from the window of the compartment to a young couple having fun in bed. In general, the London scenes are deliberately discolored, and this faded color emphasizes not only the characters’ everyday life in the gloomy capital, but also conveys their inner state clearly. Only sporadic and not at all accidental glimpses of sunlight sometimes defiantly spoil this dim idyll. Even the sunny Italian flashbacks do not seem so carefree and bright. In short, the picture here is as polished as possible, which is usual for a project of this caliber from a streaming service that can afford solid budgets. The scenes at sea are gorgeous. The only thing is that Cuarón seems to overuse the Iris effect (narrowing the space in the frame down to a small circle with an image in the middle of a black screen) — an editing technique that was very popular in the silent era or, for example, in old cartoons like «Tom and Jerry».

The narrative, which is based on the factor of an unreliable narrator, is definitely literary-centered. A voiceover constantly sounds, broadcasting the thoughts of the characters, and thanks to this simple approach, they become clearer and, accordingly, closer to the viewer. Several storylines and even timelines, which will predictably come together to form a complete picture, are competently shuffled, so there is no need to complain about boredom. On the contrary, while watching, you are eager to find out what will happen next and how it will all end.

Kevin Kline’s character’s behavior doesn’t seem entirely adequate either. Either his grandfather forgot to take his pills or decided to go over to the side of evil in his old age, but because this line is sometimes implausible, there is no revelation where it was supposed to be.

In addition, the final story of Cate Blanchett’s character, which sheds light on the events of 20 years ago, should have turned everything upside down. But in fact does not become the revealing twist that takes the story to a fundamentally different level. Thus, Cuarón’s culminating efforts to surprise and give a tense thriller crash against the wall of predictability and lack of intrigue.

Leila George, with her delicate features, seems to me not to be a good fit for the role of «Cate Blanchett 20 years ago». There is too little in common in the actresses’ appearance, although they both look beautiful. If anyone is interested — there are a significant number of erotic scenes with the 32-year-old Australian beauty, whose role required bold frankness and relaxation in front of the camera.Other local peculiarities include an old man’s communication in youthful Internet slang, which is beyond the realm of fantasy. Each London family has a cat, probably to brighten up the gray routine of Foggy Albion at least a little. And Sacha Baron Cohen proves once again that he can do more than just Adam Sandler.