By George & Josh Bate
Steven Spielberg has repeatedly revisited the science fiction genre over the past 50 years. The filmmaker behind Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, War of the Worlds, and Ready Player One has arguably not missed when it comes to coupling high-concept science fiction premises with the kind of warmth and wonder only Spielberg can cultivate. With Disclosure Day, Spielberg continues his decades-long impressive run in science fiction cinema, creating a stunning achievement of a film brimming with intrigue, scope, and awe.
From a screenplay by frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp, Disclosure Day stars Josh O’Connor as Daniel Kellner, a cybersecurity expert who discovers that the United States government has been concealing facts about the existence of extraterrestrial life on Earth. As Daniel prepares for a world-altering disclosure day, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) exhibits strange behavior during a weather broadcast that alerts Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), the head of the mysterious Wardex corporation. Soon, Daniel and Margaret are drawn together as they discover unexpected ties to one another while they are pursued by a powerful organization desperate to keep the truth about alien life from coming out.
Although perhaps a tad reductive, the best way to succinctly characterize Disclosure Day is that it’s as if Steven Spielberg directed the most epic, intriguing, and cinematic series finale to The X-Files one could possibly imagine (minus Mulder and Scully, of course). The architect of countless films ingrained in the minds of generations oversees a 21st century movie deeply attuned to the alien and sci-fi stories of the 20th century that shaped his understanding of cinema. Akin to Chris Carter’s approach to The X-Files, Spielberg leans heavily into espionage, conspiracy, and intrigue, even more so than science fiction at times (not to mention he includes those creepy grey aliens first seen in The Outer Limits and later popularized by Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Fans of The X-Files may find Spielberg’s film to be somewhat derivative of the series, down to the positioning of ill-intentioned humans determined to stop the world from finding out about aliens and Colin Firth’s Smoking Man-esque antagonist. But, ultimately, those drawn to the suspense and mystery of Carter’s iconic series will find it relatively easier to overlook its parallels to Disclosure Day due to the caliber of filmmaking on display.
After a jolting first 10 minutes that drop the audience into the middle of the story and make us feel as if we’ve missed an introductory scene or two, Disclosure Day quickly finds its footing with a narrative shrouded in so much intrigue. What begins as a story about a whistleblower determined to tell the world about the existence of extraterrestrial life quickly makes it clear that this is merely one element of a far more complex story.
Largely through the unusual behaviors exhibited by Blunt’s character, whether it be suddenly speaking Korean without previously knowing the language or mind-bogglingly having the ability to understand a person’s entire history and emotions, Spielberg’s film introduces a tantalizing mystery and, thanks to a well-paced script from Koepp, lets this mystery linger all the way until the third act (and beyond). The duo refrain from disclosing the secrets of this mystery for much of the runtime and, in doing so, create a film you simply can’t take your eyes off of, such is the desire to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.
A phenomenal turn from Emily Blunt anchors this mystery and keeps the audience fascinating with figuring out what exactly is going on. Blunt plays the role of a woman suddenly exhibiting unusual, almost supernatural abilities with the perfect concoction of humor, confusion, and determination. Much of the film finds her character Margaret Fairchild fluctuating between being terrified of things she is suddenly able to do and singularly focused on finding Josh O’Connor’s Daniel Kellner. Blunt navigates these fluctuations with such exacting precision that the movie comes alive anytime she’s on screen.
One of the standout elements of the film comes in the form of several dialogue scenes involving supporting characters. These scenes, which are placed in the movie sporadically and don’t overstay their welcome, finds Spielberg directly in conversation with his audience about the existence of aliens. Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have been Spielberg reckoning with the existence of aliens, but Disclosure Day is Spielberg making his position clear and known – aliens are real and believing in such a fact does not run counter to establish spiritual/religion beliefs nor will entail the collapse of civilization as we know it.
In relying so heavily on the intrigue of its narrative, Disclosure Day places incredible weight and expectation on its third act. And, ultimately, the results are mixed. While the film retains a sense of scale and stakes fitting to its subject matter, the reveals that the film converges on pose more questions than they answer, so much so that we probably need a Disclosure Day about Disclosure Day to wrap up all the loose ends. Exposed to a moderate degree of scrutiny and all manner of questions are raised about characters’ motivations, why certain things occurred, how other things work, and more. There’s obviously a time and a place to be abstract and leave things up for interpretation, but Spielberg’s film is less Lynchian (i.e., you should feel it, rather than try to understand it) and more unintentionally perplexing.
The fallout from these reveals, which encompasses the film’s epic last 20 minutes or so, largely sticks the landing, although not smoothly enough to overlook the various ambiguities and plot conveniences. Spielberg executes what M. Night Shyamalan was going for with the ending of Glass in far more sophisticated and far less silly fashion and crafts a deserved conclusion worthy of the scale of its story.
That being said, Disclosure Day’s final moments frustrate with their open-endedness. Again, movies may excel in leaving certain things up for interpretation or posing questions that are left to linger in the minds of the audience, but Spielberg’s film concludes in a way that robs the audience of an entirely satisfying resolution. Maybe this issue will be ameliorated if Disclosure Day receives a sequel (which we desperately hope Spielberg is interested in bringing to fruition). However, as it stands, a movie that intrigues and fascinates so profoundly culminates in an unfulfilling final note.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Steven Spielberg returns to the genre that he has crafted countless iconic stories in with a stunning achievement of a film brimming with intrigue, scope, and awe. Disclosure Day is most accurately and succinctly described as if Steven Spielberg directed the most epic, intriguing, and cinematic series finale to The X-Files one could possibly imagine (minus Mulder and Scully, of course). Like Chris Carter’s beloved television series, Spielberg’s film thrives on espionage, conspiracy, and intrigue, often operating more like an espionage thriller than it does traditional science fiction. Largely through a phenomenal performance from Emily Blunt, the movie fascinates with the mysteries that unravel and the questions that are posed, culminating in a film you simply can’t take your eyes off of, such is the desire to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The reliance on intrigue, however, puts immense weight on the shoulders of the film’s final act, which, while retaining the scope and scale of the story, poses more questions than it answers (and not in a Lynchian way). We probably need a Disclosure Day about Disclosure Day just to wrap up all the loose ends that the film bafflingly leaves hanging. Equally frustrating are an overly open-ended final few moments that rob the audience of a wholly satisfying resolution, potentially at the expense of setting up a sequel (which we would admittedly be first in line to see). Disclosure Day may miss the mark somewhat with its third act, but it’s all so beautifully shot, extraordinarily acted, and grand in scope that one can’t help but be enthralled by what unfolds on screen. A stunning achievement from one of cinema’s greatest ever filmmakers.