Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
Distributed by: Apple TV+
Written by Jeff Sparks
70/100
Following his 2018 masterpiece “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón is finally back with an Apple TV+ miniseries that stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Louis Partridge, and Leila George. Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, an esteemed journalist whose life begins to fall apart when a vengeful man (Kline) exposes an affair from her past that resulted in the death of his son. The story is split into two timelines following different characters in each. One sees Catherine having this affair while on vacation. The other sees the young man’s father, Stephen, executing his plan for revenge, believing she was at fault for his son’s demise. Some storylines left me curious about where they were going, and others I was able to foresee sooner than I would have liked. The show is at its best when we follow Blanchett’s Catherine, watching her life unravel. The stress she exhibits builds through each scene until it reaches its unavoidable boiling point. As you would imagine, Blanchett is great in the role, but the way her character is handled was a massive distraction for me. With the two timelines taking place twenty years apart, Leila George (who does a fine job) was cast to play the younger version of Catherine. This wouldn’t be as annoying if Stephen and his wife Nancy weren’t played by the same actors in both the past and the present. Or if there wasn’t a photo of Blachett as Catherine at an earlier date than when the flashbacks take place. The argument could be made that her appearance would change more than the parents over twenty years. Still, if we were going by the actress’s actual age, I don’t think people look different enough from thirty-five to fifty-five to justify this puzzling casting choice, especially considering Blanchett looks ten years younger than her real-life age anyway.
A more definitive issue with “Disclaimer” is that the storyline following present-day Stephen isn’t compelling. It isn’t revealed why Stephen is targeting Catherine until late in the fourth episode. Before that point we have no reason to despise her in the way the show tells us to. As the events of the past are unveiled to us through the flashbacks, you have to wonder how Stephen or his wife would have even gotten this information. It’s later revealed this version of the story was fabricated in the show as an attempt to introduce a twist in the final episode. This story structuring isn’t wholly detrimental to the overall series, but it leaves you wondering, “What was the point?” when the final credits roll. Since the version of the past we see was made up, I have to wonder why Stephen and his wife hate Catherine so much in the first place. You could say they’re taking their grief out on her, but that doesn’t make for a strong narrative.
While engaging enough, the story isn’t engrossing, but the direction and smooth pacing provide sufficient momentum. Cuarón’s keen eye for visual style shines with a kaleidoscopic tone to compliment the narrative. Present-day Catherine is surrounded by darker, muddy colors, captured in decisive camera movements in contrast to the bright, free-flowing cinematography that presents her affair at the beach. “Disclaimer” isn’t bad by any means, but it only amounts to good entertainment. This would be fine for most directors, but for Cuarón, the man behind “Roma” and “Y tu mamá también,” good isn’t good enough.
“Disclaimer” Trailer
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