In his first blockbuster in nearly a decade, Steven Spielberg continues his love affair with the sky by asking, ‘When did our wonder of the unknown stop?’
Disclosure Day is, in the director’s own words “a race for the truth,” with Josh O’Connor playing a cybersecurity whistleblower who possesses the archived chronicles of all the extraterrestrial encounters his company wants hidden. In his escape from the company’s executive (Colin Firth), he is guided by the UFO disclosure movement’s leader (Colman Domingo) and joined by a meteorologist (Emily Blunt), who is experiencing a sudden awakening of supernatural abilities.
To anyone who has watched Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Spielberg’s latest film will seem like familiar territory. Admittedly, I was very intrigued as to why this director would choose a spiritual successor to something he’s already made instead of a completely new idea. As the thrilling mystery in Disclosure Day slowly unraveled, I understood why.
The film is a lot about the unknown—more specifically, our reactions to it. Nowadays, wariness is much more common than curiosity; it’s much easier to hate than to understand. If Close Encounters reflected a society deeply suspicious about government authority in a post-Watergate world, then Disclosure Day transports that worry to the 2020’s political paranoia.
Screenwriter David Koepp smartly threads these lines together to make a contemporary tale that is at its core a classic Spielberg flick. Regular people going against figures of authority is a theme ever since Jaws, and in Disclosure Day, the fight is against a corporation trying to stop information from getting to the press.
But in the end, empathy really is the key word of the film. It is basically Emily Blunt’s “superpower,” and it has a profound impact on everyone she meets. There is a deep earnestness to the depiction of this power that simply can’t be found within Hollywood’s current blockbuster environment. A joke about how “corny” this all sounds as would be found in a Marvel movie is nowhere to be found here; just the wonder of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Accompanying all of this is the technical excellence we’ve come to expect from Spielberg. Great special effects, a moving score from longtime partner John Williams (coming out of retirement just for this!), and fantastic visual storytelling. Like many of the director’s films, his mastery over blocking and lighting makes every frame of the film worth paying attention to.
The star-studded cast also delivers all around. Josh O’Connor brings his signature vulnerability to Dr. James Kennel, while Colin Firth gloriously chews up scenes as the villain Noah Scanlon.
We’re only midway through the year, but I can already see Emily Blunt being nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Margaret Fairchild. I believed in every aspect of her character, from her curiosity and innocence, to her emotional reactions to the uncanny.
If anything, the only negative elements of Disclosure Day are some of its plot conveniences and occasional odd lines. But, all in all, it’s another masterpiece in this director’s oeuvre. This, along with the Artemis II flight, have proved our curiosity for the stars was just waiting to be brought out again.
Disclosure Day releases on Jun. 12 and will be playing at most local movie theaters. Find your tickets here.
