To sum up what Depressi- I mean Detachment is like, just realize this is a grand social critique by the man who directed American History X. This leads me to only one way to describe Detachment: its heart is in the right place and it has some compelling drama going for it, but it's too over the top to present its social critique in a completely convincing manner. In a way, the same problems that plagued American History X now plague this film.
Our main character is a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes, played by Adrien Brody whose face has a melancholy quality that makes him a natural fit for this film. In addition to merely teaching what the school wants him to teach, he actively tries to engage the students on an emotional and ethical level, to teach them things about life and so on. He goes on about the corrupting influence of the media and how the students must learn to think for themselves, etc. You'd think that would be enough to fill one film, but we also get a prostitute Henry pick up off the streets and tries to take care. There's also Henry's dying grandfather who lives in a nursing home and various employees at the school with problems of their own. The film thus tries to paint an enormous critique of the high school system through various characters.
What the film has going for it, are the same things American History X had going for it: great acting and drama. Adrien Brody and the rest of the cast are all quite great, particularly Brody. The film is at its preachy best during the classroom scenes where Henry outlines several societal critiques in his bid to truly educate his students in his short time there. Several other scenes, including one where Henry verbally lashes one of the nursing home's employees for not taking care of his grandfather's needs, also have a great sense of drama and whether or not you'll like/love/hate the film, there is no doubt that watching Detachment is an impactful, intense experience.
The thing that really hurts this film, however, is the same thing that hurt American History X: over the top melodrama (complete with slow-motion). As the film goes on, the film becomes increasingly melodramatic to the point that it becomes detrimental to the messages the film intends to spread. When an important, tragic character dies at the end, it feels too much as if the film – like American History X – suffers from It's Not A Good Story, Unless Someone Dies syndrome and that's not what you want. You want the death to feel deserved, which I feel this film did not. Also detrimental are the amount of well-known actors in this film. This is one of those cases where the amount of stars don't mix with the type of film. An art-house film featuring a star-studded cast hurts its aims for 'realism'.
In the end it's easy to see this film has its heart in the right place. One can sense the anger behind all the social critique delivered in its scenes. Yet it is director Tony Kaye's overwrought sense of drama that makes the film devolve into an ever increasing spiral of sadness and darkness which makes it hard to deliver the Big Message without alienating the audience. Too much melodrama can turn off an audience and that's what happened for me. The film started off incredibly well, featuring lots of well-delivered social critique, but by the end – especially when (spoiler) the overweight girl died – the film became too dark and cliché-ridden. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no subplots that ended well. Now, this is of course in line with the aims of the film, but how can I stay open to its messages when all it gives me is a nonstop portrayal of a society trapped in a downward spiral, regardless of the truths the film contains?
Our main character is a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes, played by Adrien Brody whose face has a melancholy quality that makes him a natural fit for this film. In addition to merely teaching what the school wants him to teach, he actively tries to engage the students on an emotional and ethical level, to teach them things about life and so on. He goes on about the corrupting influence of the media and how the students must learn to think for themselves, etc. You'd think that would be enough to fill one film, but we also get a prostitute Henry pick up off the streets and tries to take care. There's also Henry's dying grandfather who lives in a nursing home and various employees at the school with problems of their own. The film thus tries to paint an enormous critique of the high school system through various characters.
What the film has going for it, are the same things American History X had going for it: great acting and drama. Adrien Brody and the rest of the cast are all quite great, particularly Brody. The film is at its preachy best during the classroom scenes where Henry outlines several societal critiques in his bid to truly educate his students in his short time there. Several other scenes, including one where Henry verbally lashes one of the nursing home's employees for not taking care of his grandfather's needs, also have a great sense of drama and whether or not you'll like/love/hate the film, there is no doubt that watching Detachment is an impactful, intense experience.
The thing that really hurts this film, however, is the same thing that hurt American History X: over the top melodrama (complete with slow-motion). As the film goes on, the film becomes increasingly melodramatic to the point that it becomes detrimental to the messages the film intends to spread. When an important, tragic character dies at the end, it feels too much as if the film – like American History X – suffers from It's Not A Good Story, Unless Someone Dies syndrome and that's not what you want. You want the death to feel deserved, which I feel this film did not. Also detrimental are the amount of well-known actors in this film. This is one of those cases where the amount of stars don't mix with the type of film. An art-house film featuring a star-studded cast hurts its aims for 'realism'.
In the end it's easy to see this film has its heart in the right place. One can sense the anger behind all the social critique delivered in its scenes. Yet it is director Tony Kaye's overwrought sense of drama that makes the film devolve into an ever increasing spiral of sadness and darkness which makes it hard to deliver the Big Message without alienating the audience. Too much melodrama can turn off an audience and that's what happened for me. The film started off incredibly well, featuring lots of well-delivered social critique, but by the end – especially when (spoiler) the overweight girl died – the film became too dark and cliché-ridden. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no subplots that ended well. Now, this is of course in line with the aims of the film, but how can I stay open to its messages when all it gives me is a nonstop portrayal of a society trapped in a downward spiral, regardless of the truths the film contains?