Detachment

Cuts straight to the bone this film. Not by any means a pink fluffy bunny rabbit type a film. More like the rabbits just been run over by a drugged out alcoholic waste off a person... if this is real life in teaching (which undoubtedly it is) my god the worlds doomed, it really is.... blame the parents... blame the government... blame the soft arsed society we have become..

Saw this at a local film festival with little to no information about the movie whatsoever; little did I know this was going to become my favorite film of the year, and that's saying a lot given that 2011 has been a blast for moviegoers with new products by Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, Lars Von Trier and Clint Eastwood.

The movie revolves around an poignant substitute teacher (perfectly played by Adrien Brody) who arrives at a vicious school, where students go around bullying people (including the teachers) and basically throwing their lives directly to the dumpster…you know, teenage angst and such…I didn't grow up in the USA, so two important things I must say, a) I don't know if this is an accurate depiction of any given school in America and b) I can't relate with the overall chronicle, which brings me to my next point.

The beauty of this movie comes within the subtext, whether you can directly relate with the characters or not, the movie takes the message and widens its range so everyone is able to understand the actual meaning of the film. Let's clear things out, this film is not about a school or the basis of education, this is about trying our best not to give a damn about others as most of us just go around doing everything in our power to be happy ourselves with a lousy job, a loveless marriage, a constant sense of abandonment or basically a crappy life (all of the above portrayed marvelously in the film).

Films by Tony Kaye tend to be really visceral with a thin slice of optimism in the undertones, I think this time he just went mental about everything, in the end you'll leave the theater with a slight sense of hopelessness, almost as if you're destined to watch daily misery without the power to control anything but your own life, as if the only battle you must fight is the constant reminder that even when everything falls apart and slowly turns into dust, you can't change the world, you just have to avoid the world from changing you…This exposed stunningly in the final sequence of the movie.

Do yourself a favor, watch this film!

I haven't seen a movie that drew me in to this extent in a long time. Extremely well written, directed, cast, acted ,edited etc. with all of the team talent that it takes to make a great film. Yes, there are a couple of "predictable" story lines. Ultimately, that doesn't matter at all . Watch it and get past them. It's not just a slam about the American school system. It's about how the flaws that all of us have affect us and others. Now I'm just annoyed by the fact that I have to write 10 lines in order to recommend this film . I guess that I can say that I was really surprised to see that American Express was one of the sponsors above the title. Now, just go see it !

At first I was a bit skeptical about watching this as it is a drama and I am not a big fan of drama movies. The only reason I watched this was because it starred Adrien Brody and I loved his performance in the Pianist and boy it was worth every second of my time. I was glued to my seat from the beginning till the end because of the idea, which makes Detachment so special. The animations during the movie just captures your mind and has been done fantastically. Its been a while since I have seen a film with such a well written realistic plot and beautiful execution. The movie involves you in it from second 1, though there is not much of a story as one would expect, but again this movie is about reality at its finest.

The characters were strong and though the movie was a bit slow, it made its point and point well made I would say. Its a must watch if you like movies which are thought provoking and which actually make sense.

Detachment is a dark movie which everyone can relate with, the solitariness, the cynicism, the despair and the darker shades of our lives which we cover with many other things. It doesn't end on a good note unlike the common genre movies - it could have easily drifted that way to be more appealing. But then who's gonna live happily forever!!

Though the education system and the schools and the students ain't that evil and rotten the way its shown in the movie, it does pose many a question, the dubious system in which everything goes on without a point. The miserable life of teachers were beautifully shown, yes they do go through worse situations. Adrien Brody does something meaty after pianist as the cool, composed and ailing substitute teacher. The climax was so dramatic and metaphorical, the background score adds value to the visual richness.

The screenplay is too dark at times, the lighter moments and the virtuous elements highly underplayed though it saves the movie many a time from drowning. I loved the way the narration takes us through, we feel the pain the characters are going through. Wish had it been lighter in content with some thing which kindled a ray of virtue somewhere, Alas! but that's the way it is..