‘Denial’ series review: Alfonso Cuaron creates a cornucopia of cinematic delights
Disclaimer A young couple, Sasha (Liv Hill) and Jonathan (Louis Partridge) begin by having sex on a train. They are comfortable with their bodies and sexuality. The two are going to Italy for a vacation. The scene shifts to a fancy dinner in London where renowned documentarian, Catherine Ravencroft (Cate Blanchett), is being honored with an award for her latest work.
In the show, the announcer says, “Beware of narrative and form,” and the audience heeds that disclaimer. Narrative and form as well as one’s preconceived notions create palatable versions of truth. “Catherine,” declared the announcer, “reveals our own complicity in some of today’s more toxic social sins.”
Disclaimer (English)
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Indira Verma, Cody Schmidt-McPhee
episode: 7
Running time: 50-60 minutes
Story: A successful woman receives a book, the content of which threatens to tear her life apart
As the show progresses, one realizes how much one is tied to one’s beliefs and experiences as the characters in the series. There’s Catherine, the brilliant truth-teller, hiding secrets. There is her husband, Robert, (Sacha Baron Cohen) a supportive and loving husband, unwilling to give Catherine the benefit of the doubt, or a safe space to unburden herself.
A still from ‘rejection’ Photo credit: Apple TV
Catherine and Robert’s 25-year-old son, Nicholas (Cody Schmidt-McPhee), drifts through life as his mother is controlling and distant while his father tries too hard to be a companion rather than a parent. Jonathan’s father, Stephen, (Kevin Kline), a retired public school teacher, thinks Catherine is responsible for Jonathan’s death and indirectly for the death of his wife, Nancy (Leslie Manville) long before cancer claims.
After Jonathan’s death, Nancy withdraws from living, turning her house into a temple. She leaves Stephen outside and goes into Jonathan’s room to listen to him type.
Twenty years after Jonathan’s death and nine years after Nancy’s death, when Stephen sorts through Nancy’s belongings, he finds a manuscript, titled The Perfect Strangerand some intimate photos of a young Catherine (Lila George). Stephen published the book with the help of Justin (Art Malik), his friend and the headmaster of the school he taught at.
He sends a copy to Catherine who is shocked and horrified when she recognizes herself in the book, recalling a holiday in Italy as a family 20 years ago. Robert had to leave early because something came up at work, while Sasha returned to London, when her mother called to tell her that Sasha’s beloved aunt had died in an accident.
Stephen also leaves a copy of the book at Nicholas’ workplace and a photograph with Robert, which he (Robert) immediately recognizes as having been taken at the hotel they were staying at. As Catherine’s life crumbles, Stephen tightens the trap, dropping copies in Catherine’s office to the delight of his violently ambitious colleagues, including his assistant, Jisoo (Hoyeon).
Alfonso Cuarón’s first foray into streaming is an all-around delicious one. His trademark long takes are served with a side of fever. There are those long pullbacks, like when the police arrive to inform Stephen and Nancy of their son’s death, the camera pans back to the outdoor grill, the television continues to talk about a beauty pageant as all the couple’s joy is blown away. the life
A still from ‘rejection’ Photo credit: Apple TV
There are beautiful houses — Catherine’s one of light and space, never mind the disruptive cat, while Stephen’s rambling old house shows signs of neglect following Nancy’s withdrawal from the living world. A former student teaching Stephen to navigate social media (“no full stops, commas or question marks,” “don’t post about books”) is hilarious.
disclaimer, Based on the eponymous novel by Renee Knight,Also regarding parents and children, Nicholas feels distanced from his parents from Nancy’s unconditional love for Jonathan. On the other hand Catherine’s mother, who is struggling with dementia, responds to her daughter’s confession in the dark by holding Catherine’s hand.
In the acting department, though Blanchett is predictably majestic — equal parts fiercely powerful and infinitely fragile, it’s Cline who steals our hearts as the vengeful widow, driven to delusion by deep grief, who realizes, almost too late, that all is not as it seems.
Cuaron’s decision to cast a narrator, Indira Verma, is not as disruptive as some accusations suggest; Probably due to listening to a bunch of Lucy Foley books, which feature multiple points of view in different time periods.
Disclaimer Totally enjoyable. It’s beautifully mounted, staged (Blanchette’s coats and scarves are delicious) and acted, zipping through its seven sexy, overwrought episodes while slyly questioning and trusting our notions of truth.
Disclaimer is currently streaming on Apple TV+ with weekly episodes dropping until Friday November 15
has been published – October 14, 2024 02:33 pm IST