Disclaimer begins with a young couple, Sasha (Liv Hill) and Jonathan (Louis Partridge) having sex on a train. They seem comfortable with their bodies and sexuality. The two are on their way to Italy for a holiday. The scene shifts to a fancy dinner in London where the celebrated documentarian, Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett), is being honored with an award for her latest work.
At the ceremony, the announcer says, âBeware of narrative and form,â and the viewer would do well to heed that disclaimer. Narrative and form as well as oneâs preconceived notions create palatable versions of truth. âKatherine,â the announcer declares, âhas revealed our own complicity in some of todayâs more toxic social sins.â
Disclaimer (English)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Indira Varma, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Episodes: 7
Run time: 50-60 minutes
Storyline: A successful woman receives a book, the contents of which threatens to tear her life apart
As the show progresses, one realises, how much is tied to oneâs beliefs and experiences quite like the characters in the series. There is Catherine, the brilliant truth-teller, hiding behind secrets. There is her husband, Robert, (Sacha Baron Cohen) the supportive and loving husband, unwilling to give Catherine the benefit of the doubt, or a safe space in which to unburden herself.
Catherine and Robertâs 25-year-old son, Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee), drifts through life convinced his mum is controlling and remote while his dad tries too hard to be a mate rather than a parent. Jonathanâs father, Stephen, (Kevin Kline) a retired public school teacher, holds Catherine is responsible for Jonathanâs death and indirectly for his wife, Nancyâs (Lesley Manville) death long before cancer claimed her.
After Jonathanâs death, Nancy withdrew from living, turning his room into a shrine. She moves into Jonathanâs room leaving Stephen outside listening to her type away.
Twenty years after Jonathanâs death and nine years after Nancyâs passing, when Stephen sorts through Nancyâs things, he comes across a manuscript, titled The Perfect Stranger, and some intimate photographs of a young Catherine (Leila George). With the help of his friend, and headmaster in the school he taught in, Justine (Art Malik), Stephen publishes the book.
He sends a copy to Catherine who is shocked and horrified when she recognises herself in the book, dredging up memories of a holiday to Italy they took as a family 20 years ago. Robert had to leave early because something came up at work, while Sasha returned to London, when her mum called telling of Sashaâs favourite aunt dying in an accident.
Stephen also drops off a copy of the book at Nicholasâ workplace and a copy with Robert, with the photographs, which he (Robert) instantly recognises were taken at the hotel they stayed in. As Catherineâs life falls apart, Stephen tightens the noose, dropping off copies at Catherineâs office, to the delight of her violently ambitious colleagues, including her assistant, Jisoo (HoYeon).
Alfonso Cuarónâs first foray into streaming is all round delicious. His trademark long takes are served with a side of feverishness. There are those long pullbacks, like when the police come to inform Stephen and Nancy of their sonâs death, the camera goes back to the outdoor grill, with the television continuing to talk about a beauty contest while all the joy has been leached out this coupleâs life.
There are beautiful homes â Catherineâs being one of light and space, never mind the disruptive cat, while Stephenâs rambling old house, shows signs of neglect after Nancyâs withdrawal from the world of the living. A former student teaching Stephen to navigate social media (âno full stops, commas or question marks,â âdonât post about booksâ) is poignantly funny.
Disclaimer, based on Renée Knightâs eponymous novel,is also about parents and children, from Nancy unconditional love for Jonathan to Nicholas feeling distanced from his parents. Catherineâs mum, who is struggling with dementia, on the other hand, responds to her daughterâs confession in the dark by reaching out and holding Catherineâs hand. Â
In the acting department, while Blanchett is expectedly regal â equal parts fiercely strong and infinitely fragile, it is Kline who steals our hearts as the vengeful widower, driven to distraction by profound grief, who realises almost too late everything is not as it seems.
Cuarónâs decision to have a narrator, Indira Varma, is not as disruptive as some of the complaints indicate; probably due to listening to a bunch of Lucy Foley books, which all feature multiple points of view in different time periods.
Disclaimer is wholly enjoyable. It is beautifully mounted, dressed (Blanchettâs coats and scarves are delish) and acted, zipping by its seven sexy, overwrought episodes while slyly questioning our concepts of truth and make believe.
 Disclaimer is currently streaming on Apple TV+ with weekly episodes dropping on Fridays till November 15
Published – October 14, 2024 02:33 pm IST