"DISCLAIMER" - MINI-REVIEW
Director Alfonso Cuarón (Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN, CHILDREN OF MEN, GRAVITY, ROMA) serves up this pulpy, soapy, and unsettling limited series (adapted from a novel by Renee Knight), which I would lump in with similar female-driven psychological thrillers with top-shelf filmmaking like David Fincher‘s GONE GIRL, but mixed with a cold, observational distance (and distancing narration) that you’d find in Stanley Kubrick’s BARRY LYNDON, or Todd Field’s LITTLE CHILDREN. The approach is bold, the performances are uniformly excellent (a blustery, furious Kevin Kline, a tightly-coiled Lesley Manville, and a heartbreaking Kodi Smit-McPhee are the standouts), and the filmmaking is near perfection.
While on the surface it may seem like a master chef making grilled cheese, there are layers to this that I won’t get into now. While I've never been a big TV watcher, Cuarón is an exquisite storyteller always worth showing up for, and the feeling he leaves you with by the end, and who you side with, may ultimately say more about *you.*
The first two episodes of DISCLAIMER premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, October 11. This is a piece of art to talk about, and I can’t wait to go full-spoilers with my thoughts once the series concludes in mid-November.
(Also, this mini-review comes with its own disclaimer: this series features some STRONG sexual content, which is integral to the story)
Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/