Spoilers ahead for “Disclosure Day.”
“Disclosure Day” has all of the beats of a successful Steven Spielberg film: the meticulous tracking shots, the signature train in a pivotal scene and, above all, the unshakeable faith that extraterrestrial life is something to be celebrated rather than feared. Spielberg’s adherence to the formula that first brought him recognition for hits like “ET” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” makes his newest film largely successful and endlessly watchable, but “Disclosure Day” is ultimately limited by its semi-coherent plots and lackluster dialogue.
“Disclosure Day” opens in the middle of the action. Protagonist Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) has stolen classified information and a mysterious object from his nefarious employer WARDEX, headed by the sinister Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth). When the film begins, Noah has taken Daniel’s girlfriend Jane (the compelling Eve Hewson) hostage and jumpstarted a game of cat-and-mouse.
Meanwhile, across the country, the weather reporter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is developing a strange ability. She wakes one morning seemingly both telekinetic and able to communicate in any language — though she can’t control her sudden powers and unintentionally glimpses in others’ minds. This comes to a head when she inadvertently broadcasts an alien message on national television, alerting Scanlon and a group of WARDEX whistleblowers led by a man named Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo) to her inhuman abilities. These disparate plotlines converge as Scanlon and Hugo race to track down the two protagonists and keep a decades-long government cover-up of extra-terrestrial life under wraps.
These disconnected stories are already plenty to balance, but Spielberg continues to pile on subplots without taking his foot off the gas. In the three days during which the film takes place, North Korea declares World War III in the background, it turns out Scanlon can harness alien powers for mind control and myriad other side-plots abound.
The result of such an over-stuffed film is that many critical elements are ignored or distilled. Colman Domingo is criminally underutilized for an actor of his caliber, for instance, and randomly invoking the threat of nuclear war verges on comical. Most glaring is the plot involving the aliens itself. The exact reason why the government has been hiding their existence is never fully fleshed out, nor are the aliens’ powers. Daniel spends half of the movie hiding a secret stolen device crafted from raw alien material, but its abilities are never fully fleshed out beyond mind-control (and in one instance, invisibility). Spielberg’s relentless pacing carries the film through its first two acts, but as the movie slows down to accommodate emotional beats, its flaws become clear.
Similarly, Spielberg commits only partially to religious themes. Critical scenes take place in a monastery, and he explicitly asks what would happen to the human psyche if extra-terrestrial life was confirmed. This element of the story is incredibly interesting, but abandoned before fruition.
What is most redeeming about the film is its cast and crew. O’Connor brings his doleful eyes and trademark earnestness, and Blunt alternates seamlessly between serving as the comedic relief and raw emotion. Neither Firth nor Domingo is given dialogue with lots of depth, but each is a welcome addition to the film.
The film’s greatest strength, though, is of course Spielberg himself. Nobody can direct an action sequence like the blockbuster veteran, who can sustain suspense for scenes at a time. The mind-control scenes may be incongruous with the rest of the plot, but they’re incredibly immersive. Each of his trademark touches comes out at least once during the film: There’s the traditional “Spielberg face,” which slowly pushes in on one character’s face during a grand reveal or moment of awe, and the incorporation of a train in a high-stakes, viscerally stressful moment.
Beyond his sweeping dolly shots and technical prowess, it is Spielberg’s heart that makes the movie engaging despite its flaws. Throughout a fifty-year career filled with accolades and tonal shifts, Spielberg has held onto a childlike sense of wonder that comes through in everything from his sincere adoration of the cosmos to the craft of filmmaking itself. “Disclosure Day” is ultimately very hopeful about the future of the human race — it urges us to remember that “our greatest evolutionary advantage is empathy.”
