Disclosure Day

The much-anticipated Steven Spielberg film, Disclosure Day has arrived—the summation (Spielberg’s own words) of the director’s life in science fiction films which began with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Like most of the planet, I have enjoyed Spielberg’s work over the years—two of his films are in my top 100 movies: Schindler’s List and Lincoln. Others, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and more, are permanently registered in my mind as I presume they are for many of you. There are flashes of the majesty of those past works in Disclosure Day. The film is solid and, at times, dazzling from an action and technical standpoint. But the story is plagued by incongruities and, eventually, silliness, diminishing the impact of its core theses.   

The principal themes of Disclosure Day are not new to Spielberg’s story telling. Many of his films have ruminated on the spectrum of human reaction to and treatment of the different (Schindler’s List), the mis-understood (Close Encounters), the alien (E.T.). This time Spielberg attempts to weave these themes within a run/chase conspiracy-thriller wrapper. 

The runner is Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Conner: Knives Out-Wake up the Dead), an employee of a secret government affiliate, the Wardex Corp, who has stolen government files detailing decades of events of human-alien contact. Daniel is supported in his crime by a crew of Wardex defectors convinced that the truth of alien visitors must be revealed to the world. The chaser, Wardex CEO Noah Scanlon (Collin Firth, Kingsmen: The Secret Service) is just as strongly convinced that the planet cannot handle the truth about the alien presence and rushes to track down Kellner and his associates before they can reveal those secrets.  

Concurrently, a television weather person, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada 2) has an odd encounter with a small bird in her apartment triggering latent (maybe) telepathic abilities in her. Margaret's seemingly new knowledge and periodic visions lead her toward Daniel and an awareness of their intertwining pasts with the undisclosed aliens and what might be learned from them. 

Disclosure develops some pace and shine in its early running scenes—sweeping camera pans following car chases and train v. vehicle encounters. The associated imagery is familiar and fun. 

The characters are well played by the ensemble cast with some standout supporting performances from Wyatt Russell (son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell), as Margaret’s boyfriend and Courtney Grace who just nails it as a news anchor in the film’s final scene. 

But Disclosure Day stumbles hard in creating a convincing connection among and purpose for its characters and all its moving parts. Disclosure's numerous ideas and theme strings are convoluted and sometimes off target, with too many gaps and questions to congeal into any impactful whole. It’s Citizen Kane-esque ending comes and goes without resonance. 

And so, my anticipation of Disclosure Day’s arrival and of a Spielberg tale, once again, leaving an indelible imprint on my psyche, was for not. Many critics found the film “Fresh” however, as did most early viewers reporting out on Rotten Tomatoes. So, you may indeed find freshness and profundity in this new and final Spielberg sci-fi. Sadly, I didn’t. 5.5 out or 10.