Directed by:
Tony KayeScreenplay:
Carl LundCinematography:
Tony KayeComposer:
The Newton BrothersCast:
Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Zorich, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston (more)Plots(1)
Director Tony Kaye's (AMERICAN HISTORY X) long-awaited film DETACHMENT stars Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form a bond with either his students or colleagues. A lost soul grappling with a troubled past, Henry finds himself at a public school where an apathetic student body has created a frustrated, burned-out administration. Inadvertently becoming a role model to his students, while also bonding with a runaway teen who is just as lost as he is, Henry finds that he's not alone in a life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world. (Tribeca Film)
(more)Reviews (4)
He, he! This should be shown in the first year of Teachers Uni so everyone can quickly and timely think whether they want to follow the profession. Kids are bastards and their parents are even worse (I know the stories, a teacher’s family :-D). Even though the film has good performances and a message, Adrien Brody as the protagonist didn’t win my heart.
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One of the strangest movies I’ve seen in a while. I really wasn’t expecting such an artistic experience. Because the director had quite a depressing and often incredibly abstract take on everything. Anyway, the great thing about this movie is that the moment you no longer know where to go with all that depression, salvation suddenly appears; but only for a worse depression to follow. Adrien Brody gives a great performance. But if I were him, I’d shoot my brains out right away. But Detachment was definitely worth watching, even though I could do without the school. However, it has once again confirmed that the entire problem stemmed from communication. Communication is a bitch.
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When Henry starts look sadly out of the bus, emotionlessly listening to a bunch of vulgarities from the boldest student, I tend to believe that I am watching some paradoxical version of Dangerous Minds or the absolute art of its various clones. And yet at the point where the dedicated teachers finally get under the stubborn students' skin and celebrate a final success, Detachment is just getting started. And it continues in a world of broken people, where we don't have to go far for a sad emotional catharsis. The most commendable fact about Tony Kaye's piece is that it doesn't take the depressing premise and just slides straight into a tragic conclusion. Some storylines pass through the depths of the soul, while others belie a symbolic hope within them. Thanks to this balance (and thanks to several intentionally unanswered plot questions), certain gloomy topics will stay in your mind for a good few days.
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Harsh, volatile (excellent cinematography and work with the grainy image) and sometimes slightly surreal, but very personal and impressive in terms of its value as a probe into the Western school system with its positives (minimally) and negatives (primarily). The character of Adrien Brody is just the icing on the cake and an imaginary weight on the scales, which one day go more towards one side, and the next day the opposite. Narratively delivered, cinematically economical, backed by a terrific cast and sumptuous personal scenes. Tony Kaye hasn't made much, but he still has a decent grip and knows what he wants to tell the audience, especially when it comes to controversial topics.
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