Cinephiles all over the world must have been quite surprised upon learning that award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón had taken to television finally in Disclaimer. But we couldn’t help it, even after hearing that a pack of Academy Award winners and nominees would be heading behind the screen, together with past collaborator Cuarón and three-time Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, who has won in cinematography for Gravity, Birdman and The Revenant, as director of photography.
Thus, Cuarón — who directed every episode and penned word for word all of the screenplays, having based the idea on a distinct best-selling title by Renée Knight – successfully underscored at the currently running Venice International Film Festival that he treated this particular task as a shooting of a movie instead of a series. In other words, do not worry that the brilliant filmmaker has shifted to television for the latest outing. Be prepared to be amazed in more than one way. This adaptation coming out for Apple TV + as fans of the book will be shocked and undoubtedly clean sweep the awards circuit next year.
With regards to overcoming all odds in the future for the EGOT award, it would appear that Jennifer Blanchett merits substantial attention for the effort in taking up Disclaimer. Mrs. America on FX already had carved its niche and earned her a nomination, but Disclaimer is more suited to fleshing out what can be termed a vanity project for Mrs. Australia performer who is age 55 and pretty much defies time to stay in the game and the latest character Catherine’s constant feature is weeping and crumbling to pieces.
Catherine herself belongs to a journalistic elite and opens the thrilling new miniseries by presenting her latest acclaimed award. Longtime psychiatrist husband Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen, still surprises in serious roles) supports the woman in life’s major events and especially in high feelings at periods like getting the letter in which the woman receives a manuscript that contains some hidden past of her which she never told to her husband Robert or even grown-up son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
The disclaimer is spread out over seven chapters, which is quite commendable and equally a refreshing twist to the thoughtful and rather complex novel. It would be an unusual and somewhat mean thing to do to share anything further beyond the present state of conjecture incrementally developed to those of the pilots. The teaser trailer of the series which has been put out too some extent maintains the secret that has been built over the iceberg novel. There are quite those who have read the novel, and maybe last watched the teaser that they wonder why it is not Baron Cohen who plays Catherine’s husband.
Funny enough, Kline –who is doing a perfect English- uh.. an American accent here– has a parallel plot as well, something like a competing protagonist central arc that will make the Academy typecast him as a Lead Actor Best Nominee in next year’s Emmy awards with Baron Cohen and Smit-McPhee being foreseen in supporting cast.
There’s also Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread) in the mix here as a shoo-in for supporting actress, come awards circuit. The dependable rage that one has come to expect from well-culled projects of old is apparent in her episodes of Disclaimer as well, especially with an underplayed and more composed Kline. The struggles of her and most lately Roberts, as one part of a relationship in difficulties often parallel that of Catherine and Roberts but do not panic when you acknowledge the disjointedness of the general story.
Cuarón the master storyteller that he is, I cannot fail to observe that he is always above the symposium, everything is clear and straightened out with reasonable and vigorous turns of events in the plot which are rather lucid supplemented by narrators who are meta-like but only in relation to their stories. The content of such narrations won’t be spoiled here, but they’re not so much of explanatory work and rather evoke an unsettling inside-the-head sensation that sinks into quiet haunting chills – most particularly since the narrator of events is speaking in parallel with what is happening to Catherine.
Besides, since Lubezki and Oscar nominee Bruno Delbonnel have worked as DPs for the show, it is reasonable to lower your worries on the expectations on the visual aspect. Just as the great Steven Soderbergh visually separated the chapters of the critically acclaimed film Traffic among others Disclaimer is captivating since its main actors are portrayed in quite clearly intend different styles, for one, the first one is the use of shaky camera and for the second a controlled, steady cam.
If there was any level of uncertainty about it, the tension is quite evidently elevated with every single new episode, with Disclaimer also helping to finally settle the debate that some classic books should not be simply crammed into 90-120 minute long films. Cuaron directed the third Harry Potter film in the series, at the time it was the best film adaptation of the works. Disclaimer, however, is a much better treatment of Knight’s novel, and Cuaron has plans for future adaptations that further develop the miniseries structure.
Everything adds to a massive, international narrative of which it is more accurate to say that it is about a race against the clock and that is something that Catherine, or should I say, a journalist in her, tries to do through her journalistic skills when looking into who has been trying to harm her and her close relatives by discrediting her in connection with the earlier events that mentally scarred her. “For those who have this title, notice that the ‘disclaimer’ as mentioned in the title screen says, no living or dead is purely incidental not to mention, it is also in the breath taking manuscript that follows that threatens to erase Catherin’s life history.”
Coming to the series, its first line states ” Be warned narrative and form” — The TV features fans can add, in so far as there is anything to “beware of” in this case, it would be the wasting of your forthcoming Friday evenings after you have polished off yet another episode and then go on to argue with others about what just happened, that would be after the reservations and drumming up of the next show. Prepare the places on the internet!
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