Film Review #2: Detachment

Detachment is a film that hits home, and it hits hard. Though it is set in high school, this is not a high school movie. It extends much further than petty teenage problems. The real issues are very basic ones of love, kindness, affection, and personal human attachment.

At the start, the film introduces insolent students and parents yelling at administrators, an angry group of students brutally murdering a cat, and a whole cast of lonely staff members just trying to make it through the day. Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a high school substitute teacher new to the school who manages to find some semblance of solid ground in this solitary inner-city school. With many of his own issues to deal with on a daily basis, Henry has chosen to be a long-term substitute teacher. It allows him to pick up and move on after a designated period of time, and never have to worry about being attached to anyone or anything. His house is even plain and undecorated. Brody does a spectacular job at creating this troubled character who so desperately wants to escape his own demons. He is haunted by visions of his dead mother and the delusions of his terminally ill grandfather. He takes to offering blunt and profound life advice to his temporary students to help ease his own pain. 

We are also introduced to several other adults around the school as asides to further demonstrate this loneliness. With characters portrayed with such authenticity by Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, and Lucy Liu, we see how the loneliness extends beyond the students. These people each have wrecked home and work lives. When another teacher, Mr. Wiatt (Tim Blake Nelson), is seen grasping the fence and looking up to the sky, I felt lost. I was not confused. I felt his pain with being lost in the world. He was a nobody at school as a teacher and his family could not care less about him either. One particularly striking scene is when Henry finally acknowledges Mr. Wiatt’s presence at the fence. Mr. Wiatt’s mundane response is “You see me? You mean I’m not invisible?” He then just walks away. Why are these souls so destroyed?

For a man who is self proclaimed to be “inhuman” and detached from all other people, Henry shows a surprisingly large amount of affection for others. He didn't plan on it, but Henry eventually must put down roots both at school and at home.  He takes in and cares for Erica (Sami Gayle), a teenaged prostitute. After removing the roughness, all Erica is looking for is a family. As it turns out, that is not so far from the truth for Henry either. Henry also cares for his ill and forgetful grandfather (Louis Zorich).

The only issue I have with the film is this random appearance of Erica. Though Gayle does a good job portraying the troubled teen, I could not help but wonder if she had any purpose other than to show some more of Henry's humanity. The same goes for Meredith (Betty Kaye, director Tony Kaye's daughter), a suicidal teen who looks to Henry for comfort, even though he is not prepared to offer her any. Though Henry's last meeting with Meredith is brutal and misunderstood by fellow teacher (Christina Hendricks), his actions are understandable to anyone watching the film, though the fatal results are painful to see.

Stylistically, Kaye has created a haunting and visually appealing film. Not only do we watch Henry navigate his way through this school everyday, but we also hear his opinions on people, especially kids, today. He expresses these opinions in a dark, talking-head interview that suggests the presence of a documentary camera crew. He shares his extreme distaste for the idea that a person must be pretty, or fashionable, or rich to be happy. Brody's performance in these dark interviews reveals his talent for grittiness and depth.

Kaye also includes small chalkboard-drawing animated vignettes that help set the tone for the film. At one point, there is a depiction of a simple curtain closing. However, the intensity of certain situations throughout is revealed with such animations as a head being severed from a body and blood splattering the chalkboard. If the superb acting was not enough to demonstrate the anger and frustration in the film, these drawings help.

The film takes us on an emotional roller coaster by forcing us to think about our own lives and the people we see everyday around us. Brody proves himself to be a master of portraying isolation and discomfort.

Directed by: Tony Kaye

Written by: Carl Lund

Produced by: Bingo Gubelmann, Carl Lund, Chris Papavasiliou, Greg Shapiro, Austin Stark, Benji Kohn

Cast: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye, Louis Zorich

Running time: 100 minutes