It is DISCLOSURE DAY

Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Steven Spielberg, Universal Pictures, and Amblin Entertainment comes the story of hiding the truth in DISCLOSURE DAY.

Daniel Killner (Josh O’Connor) finds himself in the middle of a deal for the return of his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson). For that to happen, he must deal with Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), the head of Wardex. The only one to help them is Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo). It is immediately clear that Daniel has something that Scanlon desperately wants.

Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is a weather girl at a local Kansas City station. Living with musician boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell), her life begins to change when a Cardinal lands in her apartment. When she is in front of the camera, an event happens that has caught the attention of the wrong people.

Daniel and Jane are on the run! He must finally reveal all to Jane, and it costs her immediately. At the same time, Margaret’s new abilities let her know that the only way for her is to also run, but toward the danger. As much as these instincts might frighten her, they also empower her to find the one name that keeps coming to her mind – Daniel Killner.

Wanting to stop them both, Scanlon uses every piece of technology he has, including one specific piece of technology that isn’t quite of this planet. One side wants to keep secrets at all costs, and the other wants to disclose to the world that we are not alone in the world.

O’Connor as Daniel is a young man with a past that brought him to work for Wardex. While there, he discovers that he was hired to keep secrets when Daniel believes the whole world should know what has happened in 70 years. I have become such a fan of O’Connor and the characters he plays. In this film, the character he plays just doesn’t do him justice. Without giving anything away, Daniel’s story connects.

Blunt as Margaret doesn’t waste any time involving herself in the mystery of not only the things she can mysteriously do, but also piecing together her part in the grand scheme of it all. The conflict with this character is something from her past that has led her to the moment she stepped in front of the studio camera. Blunt is one of my favorite actresses. She has the ability to give such a wide range of emotions, some of it through humor. As Margaret, she drives the roller coaster of every human condition.

Firth as Scanlon believes he is doing the right things, but some believe it is for all the wrong reasons. His need to control every situation and those in the situation; he has no fear of using whatever technology or manpower that is available. There is a part of his character that believes he has the right to do so. Firth has always been on my watch list because he always chooses the unexpected roles. As Scanlon, he believes he is justified in everything he does, good or bad. I’m thrilled to see him on the screen.

Domingo as Hugo, is the connection between everyone. A former employee of Wardex, he has taken it upon himself to see everything through with Daniel and Margaret. Knowing Scanlon is hot on their trail, he makes it clear that everything will come together as it should, and no one is going to stop them. Domingo is such a wonderful actor, and as Hugo, he gives compassion and the belief that fear is what stops everything that needs to be embraced.

Hewson as Jane, brings in the religious element, challenging whether the human race is God’s only creation, but what if we are not? It’s an interesting thought, although I’m not sure it works in the film. Hewson does offer up that thought choice. Russell, as boyfriend, Jackson is a musician and more concerned with his life than that of his girlfriend. He is also playing the stereotypical role of a boyfriend who doesn’t listen. Great.

Other cast includes Delaney Cuthbert as young Margaret, Tyler Renaud as young Daniel, Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Casper Boys, Hettienne Park as Serena, Tommy Martinez as Dave Santiago, Gabby Beans as Angela Childs, Jeremy Shamos as Claypool, Revon Yousif as Agent Reza, and Elizabeth Marvel as Sister Maura.

All the musical tracks are done by the incomparable John Williams. He actually has composed the music for other Spielberg films such as JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, E.T. the EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, JURASSIC PARK, SCHINDLER’S LIST, and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

This review isn’t going to make me any friends, and, as much as I adore Steven Spielberg and his co-writer David Koepp, I can’t get on board with this film. In the two hours and twenty-five minutes I sat through the film, I had to hold my tongue. I’m not sure what Spielberg and Koepp thought they were writing about, but I have to hope they didn’t see the audience as unobservant.

I could have cut out an hour of the film and still want to cut more. The story is muddled, unbelievable in any sense of the word, and has no cohesion. Seeing some of my favorite actors go through the film is painful to watch. The cast of extraordinary actors is wonderful, and their performances stand out, given what they had to work with.

Instead of keeping my eyes on the screen, I’m turning to the people I screened the film with to make sure I wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated and disappointed – I wasn’t. The ending? Anticlimactic! Will the film do well? Sure, it’s Spielberg, and no one wants to tell an icon that an update on E.T. would have been much more enjoyable than this film.

The list of reasons is endless and would probably take longer than the running time of why I’m disappointed. To be honest, I came home and watched E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND back-to-back because I had to wash this film out of my brain. Maybe Spielberg and Koepp wanted one more shot at creating a good alien film, but this isn’t it.

In the end – welcome to Disappointment Day!