Film reviews: The final act of Disclosure Day is Steven Spielberg at his very best
From left, Charli XCX as Bethany in Erupcja; Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day; Isabelle Fuhrman as Annika in Signal One
★★★★☆
Over his career, he has tackled everything from politics to dinosaurs, but it is science fiction where Steven Spielberg’s heart really seems to lie, and over 40 years since he first played in the extraterrestrial sandpit, he returns to all things alien with Disclosure Day (12A).
Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is a cybersecurity specialist involved in a plot to release top-secret files to the world. The files reveal not only that alien life exists, but that the US government has been concealing evidence of their presence for decades.
Daniel is pursued by special operatives under orders from Scanlon (Colin Firth), head of Wardex, the covert organisation tasked with tracking and capturing extraterrestrials. Daniel is not working alone.
Several Wardex employees are part of the conspiracy, led by Hugo (Colman Domingo). Daniel’s girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), has been drawn into the situation.
Jane knows very little about Daniel. He has kept many secrets from her. Jane, too, is keeping a big secret. She was once a novice nun, something she has hidden from Daniel.
Jane takes Daniel to the one place she knows will not hand them over to the authorities: her old convent. As Daniel and Jane attempt to evade capture, another unsuspecting individual becomes entangled in the unfolding crisis.
In Kansas, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a weather presenter at a local station, is having a terrible morning. She is trying to convince her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell), to move to another city. This is a recurring pattern; every time they settle somewhere, Margaret grows restless and wants to leave.
In the middle of their argument, a bird appears in the kitchen. As Margaret becomes transfixed by it, something inexplicable happens: she begins speaking fluent Russian, then Korean.
By the time she reaches the television station, Margaret has developed the ability to read other people’s thoughts. During a live broadcast, she starts to stutter, producing a strange guttural sound before collapsing on air.
As Daniel races to expose the truth, it becomes clear that Margaret’s transformation may be connected to the secrets hidden within the government files — and to the alien presence Wardex has spent decades trying to conceal.
Now pursued by a second team of Wardex operatives, Margaret feels a need to find Daniel. She always knows where he is, which should make tracking him down easy, but Scanlon’s vast resources complicate matters at every turn.
When they finally meet, they share a connection so powerful that neither can explain it. As the story unfolds, they uncover a series of startling truths and embark on a desperate race to reveal their extraordinary discovery to the world.
Unmistakably a Spielberg film from the outset, complete with lens flares and a soaring John Williams score, the first part of the film is a little uneven, with the occasional plot hole — something not usually associated with Spielberg. Even so, it is filled with wonder and a powerful sense of empathy that radiates from the screen. The final act is among the finest pieces of cinema I have seen in years: tense, goosebump-inducing, and pure Spielberg magic.
With tremendous performances across the board, including an Oscar-worthy turn from Blunt, that uneven opening quickly fades from memory once the film comes together in its later stages. When Spielberg gets it right, it is pure cinema.
- Cinematic release
★★★★☆
Charli XCX is a British pop artist who emerged in the 2010s and later shaped a sound that influenced a new generation. Renowned for reinvention, she has starred in a mockumentary and contributed to the soundtrack of the recent Wuthering Heights. Now she adds Erupcja (12A) to her list of achievements, her first drama in which she takes a starring role as a young woman uncertain in love. Charli plays Bethany, who joins her boyfriend Rob (Will Madden) for a romantic trip to Poland. Rob planned to propose in Paris, but Bethany, finding it too touristy, prefers her favourite city, Warsaw.
Rob meticulously plans museum visits, fine dining, and romantic strolls, hoping to create the perfect trip. His focus on perfection leaves him oblivious to Bethany’s slightly odd behaviour.
There is a reason Bethany loves Poland; it has nothing to do with pierogi and everything to do with Warsaw resident Nel (Lena Góra). Years ago, Bethany and Nel formed a close, quasi-romantic bond. They reconnect every few years but never stay in touch. As Rob naps, Bethany secretly goes to find Nel.
Nel, who is a little mysterious, isn’t surprised to see Bethany. Mount Etna has erupted — and every time a prominent volcano erupts anywhere in the world, the two reconnect. It is a strange coincidence, and they have decided that their connection might be causing these eruptions, or at least be somehow responsible for them. Bethany fears Rob’s proposal. Torn between a passionate bond with Nel and a steady life with Rob, she must decide what kind of love she wants.
Erupcja ’s director, Pete Ohs, has ensured this low-key drama is both whimsical and grounded, as two relationships unfold in entirely different ways — one through the typical push-pull of lovers, the other propelled by the force of chemistry. Warsaw is a true star, captured in its modernity and history, while Charli XCX lights up the screen; her acting career is guaranteed after this.
- Cinematic release
★★★☆☆
Signal One (15) is a science fiction story that revolves around aliens who are aware of Earth but are either unable or unwilling to communicate with us. Dennis Quaid plays tech billionaire Sam Houston, who funds a private group of scientists to connect with extraterrestrials. Houston has more money than sense and doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions; he just wants to be the first to talk to aliens. Any similarities to tech moguls who own major social media platforms are, of course, coincidental, I am sure.
Houston owns a private island where renowned scientist Perry (David Thewlis) operates a communications centre devoted to reaching alien life. Grieving a family tragedy, Perry is volatile, increasingly unstable, and willing to risk a catastrophe to prove his theories right.
Most of the technical groundwork is complete, but key breakthroughs remain out of reach. To advance the project, Houston recruits Annika (Isabella Fuhrman), a theoretical physicist specialising in black holes, and Charlie Kaminsky (Josh Hutcherson), an electronics engineer.
At first, Annika and Charlie are thrilled to work with the legendary Perry, but they soon realise the project lacks oversight, Perry is a loose cannon, and he has little regard for the potential consequences of first contact.
When Charlie pushes the system too far, triggering data Annika deems dangerous, the world is plunged into darkness for several minutes. Although power returns, global panic erupts.
Writer-director Jonathan Sobol adopts a stripped-down but visually ambitious approach. The island facility is sleek and high-concept, suggesting limitless resources. The slow pacing favours thoughtful science fiction over spectacle, though some scenes feel as though key elements were edited out. At just over 90 minutes, it could benefit from expansion. Overall, it is engaging, but too much is left off the screen.
- On-demand including Apple and Prime from June 15
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