Disconnect cuts deep as a digital drama
If the 2004 film Crash was an emotional portrayal of how the world connects (or doesn’t) on a personal level then the 2013 drama Disconnect is Crash’s digital counterpart. When society stops interacting on a physical level and starts using technology in place of face-to-face connections we’re left with an all-to-real reflection of our reality. While a little heavy-handed at times, and somewhat artsy unnecessarily at others, Disconnect manages to hit home on more than a few levels.
Read the mini review for one of the better dramas of 2013 so far after the jump!
The greatest, if not also the worst, element of the new film Disconnect is how brutally, honestly familiar everything feels…if you’ve ever been a victim like the film’s characters that is. For just under two hours viewers are essentially taking a hard look in a mirror, and not all clear reflections are pretty ones. Being so entrenched in a world so entranced by technological distractions makes it a little unnerving to peak behind closed doors and through backlit screens. Disconnect does just that, and in doing so the film successfully portrays the highs and lows of living a digital life to the extremes.
From personal computers to tablets, cells phones, social networks, and stolen identities Disconnect examines the intricacies emphasized by a populace so plugged in to its accessories. What works well for the film is the web it weaves using a handful of different story lines, and missteps or liberties taken using today’s technology cut deep across the board. Strong performances paired with intimate portraits of everyday people help make what could be billed as a dramatized documentary of sorts one of the better early dramas of 2013.
Disconnect follows three separate yet connected story lines of folks who are in over their heads or just don’t care when it comes to their personal and digital relationships. A couple having relationship problems become victims of identity fraud. A pair of teenage boys play a cruel prank on a classmate that spirals out of control. Tying up the trio of stories is a look at internet cam shows and a reporter getting mixed in with an adolescent behind the scenes.
Each thread holds its own weight. While the cam show road was one a lot of critics are saying didn’t quite fit it seemed like that story was trying to say “hey this is what happens when you step away from the screens and try to connect personally”, and it worked on that level.
Disconnect definitely plays to the extremes, steering clear of the little things that irk us, and in doing so can seem heavy-handed and over the top at times. There are a few scenes that feel pulled from the indie clip-art folder (like a woman swimming the length of a pool in low light) that come out of nowhere, but overall they don’t really hurt the film’s atmosphere. Sometimes it’s nice to just look at beautiful things for a few seconds, and Disconnect is full of ugliness so the moments of beauty help.
Once again, Disconnect feels like a perfect film to watch in a double viewing with Crash. The two would complement each other well, and while Crash is the stronger film leading into it with Disconnect would be pretty perfect.
Check out the trailer and go see the the film if Disconnect sounds like one you’d enjoy.
Disconnect stars Jason Bateman, Frank Grillo, Hope Davis, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, and Alexander Skarsgard. The film opened in select theaters April 12th.