Disclaimer
Dustin Chase
It’s the second time in 2024 that a mini-series has not only been the better option over a feature film but also one of the best new releases of the year. But don’t call the new Apple+ “Disclaimer” a series in front of creator Alfonso Cuarón or producer Cate Blanchett, who insist it’s just a long seven-hour feature film. They would mostly be correct, as the four-time Oscar-winning filmmaker only thinks in cinematic form. From “Gravity” to “Children of Men” to “Roma” to “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” he is a filmmaker who never disappoints. “Disclaimer” is unlike anything he’s attempted yet, full of twists and deep methodical turns, challenging viewers in a variety of emotional and societal ways. The cast, led by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Oscar winner Kevin Kline, is beyond extraordinary.
From the outside, documentarian Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) has it all. Success, fame, and family, but a dark secret from her resurfaces thanks to widower and former professor Stephen Brigstocke (Kline). Of course, like with any family, things are not as they appear once you get past the front door. Her son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee) hates her and the entire family, sneaking away to escape his reality with hard drugs. Catherine’s doting but dull-as-dirt husband, Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen), comes to realize everything he thought about his posh little family is a lie. A book about something Catherine was involved in when Nicholas was a child is published and carefully circulated among her personal and professional circle. The book is just the beginning.
"Disclaimer" teaches us a lesson about judgment, cancelation, and varying truths."
“Beware of narrative and form,” the audience at an awards banquet is warned by Christiane Amanpour, a presenter bestowing an award to Ravenscroft. It’s a message for us, the viewers, as well. Cuarón crafts “Disclaimer” like a rollercoaster; in some episodes, you will hate certain characters, and in other episodes, you won’t want to continue, but you will; you have to see how this thing ends. “Disclaimer” teaches us a lesson about judgment, cancelation, and varying truths. As with any of Cuarón’s works, it’s intricate and delicate in the way he pieces this puzzle together, and here it pays off in wild dividends. The first two episodes of “Disclaimer” will be on Apple+ this weekend, like watching a two-hour film that will hold you in suspense until the following week.
Not only is this mystery intense from beginning to end, but it’s shot impeccably well. Cuarón uses three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (“The Revenant“) for one era of the series and six-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel (“A Very Long Engagement“) for the other. The same standard applies to any of Cuaron’s Oscar-winning films. There is also a highly provocative element to the series, but nothing he puts on screen is without a specific purpose, which will make sense in the final episodes. The success of “Disclaimer” won’t be how many people watch or how many awards they win, but how we, the audience, alter our perspectives.
Final Thought
The collaboration of one of the greatest directors of our time with one of our greatest actors culminates in one of the year's must-see events.