Disclosure Day: The Return of Spielberg’s Magic

It feels fitting that Disclosure Day can be described as this third entry in Steven Spielberg’s extraterrestrial trio, featuring ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘E.T.‘. Barring his adaptation of ‘War of the Worlds’ aside, his original concepts regarding alien life have always defied convention on an awe-inspiring scale, allowing such classics to define the essence of his movie-making magic. In particular, Spielberg’s depictions of extraterrestrial life forms allow different perspectives on what it means for us, as a society, to feel like we might not be alone in the universe and how we will react in the face of such unprecedented events.

Disclosure Day arrives at an intriguing point of Spielberg’s career, seemingly in a period of retrospection that includes his previous film ‘The Fabelmans.’ His latest feature allows him the opportunity to explore such distinct perspectives in a substantially different society featuring advanced technology, government oversight, and public perception. Spielberg wisely focuses on the immense weight that such groundbreaking information can have on those who possess it and the effects it has on people’s ethics, morals, religion, philosophy, and more.

The film follows Daniel Kellner (O’Connor), a whistleblower who holds such information after stealing it from the Wardex corporation. On the run from CEO Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), persistent on his tail, he is slowly revealed to be a bigger part of a much grander plan. Meanwhile, Margaret Fairchild (Blunt), a TV meteorologist, begins to discover mysterious changes to her mind, including unexpectedly speaking in an alien language during a broadcast. The two must come together to find the key to these unexplained events and release the truth to the world.

Describing Disclosure Day as unequivocally a Spielberg film seemingly feels like a largely overused and convenient statement, but such is genuinely the case. Modern films of such a scale rarely fit an individual style more than Spielberg’s films. His storytelling, notably, enhances whatever screenplay is given to him, utilizing the camera, score, and production design to strengthen the story. Daniel and Margaret, with supporting characters like Daniel’s girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) and fellow whistleblower Hugo (Domingo) become competently developed as characters, allowing audiences to focus on their ideological imperfections instead of clichéd flaws. When Wardex closes in on them, the stakes are much more elevated as both sides truly show to be wisely doing everything in their power to succeed, keeping audiences on their feet throughout.

The capabilities of cinematographer Janusz Kamiński and composer John Williams, longtime collaborators with Spielberg, are fully on display in the film. Clever camera work is used to help convey the shape-shifting reveals tactfully throughout without feeling redundant. As usual, Williams’ score enriches Spielberg’s cinematic experience, raising the pressure for our protagonists to prevail and deepen the important conversations that Spielberg is trying to spotlight. His restraint in applying Williams’ score is equally powerful in scenes of complete musical silence, allowing time for these conversations filled with thematic ideas to mean something and letting performances shine as well. Blunt’s portrayal of Margaret fulfills such a comprehensive journey for this crucial character, as she balances the tenacity, confusion, and emotional weight given to someone who quickly finds out that she has a profound purpose to achieve. Additionally, Firth and Domingo shine as vessels who dispense the film’s heavy stakes, leading the charge on the moral dilemma and stressing the colossal effects it can have on the world.

Overall, Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is an invigorating, new perspective on his original extraterrestrial concepts. As a spiritual successor to ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘E.T.’, he explores a different perspective of depicting alien life that uses a modern age of technology and public perception to convey these important conversations. Working with longtime collaborators Janusz Kamiński and John Williams, aiding him to communicate these messages across and playfully feel like we are watching a magical movie experience on screen all over again.

still courtesy of Universal Pictures

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Costa Christoulas

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