I grew up watching sci-fi. Lost in Space, Land of the Giants, Time Tunnel, Star Trek (most of the franchises, but The Next Generation is my favorite), Star Wars, ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind filled my imagination with what it could be like if we had contact with beings from other planets. I also thought it was arrogant for humans to believe that we were the only sentient/intelligent life in a multitude of galaxies. When I heard that Stephen Spielberg would be bringing us yet another venture into the known and unknown, hoped for and feared called Disclosure Day, I knew I needed to be sitting in a darkened theater and going along for the ride.
I steered clear of reviews until I saw for myself how the story would unfold. I have friends who loved it, so on their recommendations, I spent 2 hours and 25 minutes, knowing that since Stephen Spielberg was steering the ship, it would be a psycho-spiritual thriller. I was not disappointed.
The opening scene is of a foot coming down on the body of a wrestler who, with a competitor was entertaining a roaring crowd. How perfectly timed with the Tr*mp instigated cage match fight due to be performed the night I am writing this piece. (An aside, I hope that Mother Nature does her best to curtail the match without anyone getting hurt. The forecast calls for Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect until 11:00 PM EDT. Source: U.S. National Weather Service).
One of the main characters, Daniel Kellner, was kidnapped at the match by some nefarious people because he had something they wanted. Played by Josh O’Connor, Daniel is a math whiz, techie guy who was recruited to do cyber security for a sinister company called Wardex, which as a branch of the US government were part of the cover up of the Roswell, New Mexico events in which UFOs landed, containing intelligent and curious life forms. The appear as the stereotypical slim bodied, enlarged headed, long fingered, bug eyed beings. In one of the clips, Richard Nixon was seen walking with a Hollywood actor, who looked like Jackie Gleason, of all people. (“To the moon, Alice!” a signature, sexist and violent line bellowed by his character on The Honeymooners). The idea was that he was privy to information about the capture and mistreatment of these visitors to our planet. His conscience took hold and he decided to become a whistleblower. His girlfriend Jane Blankenship is played by Irish actor Eve Hewson. Her last name may not be familiar to most people, but in addition to being a talented performer in her own right, she is the daughter of Bono, lead singer of U2. Jane was captured by the bad guys to lure Daniel out of hiding. They are able to escape for a time, evidence in the recovered backpack and go on the lam, doing their best to evade their captors. Meanwhile, in another part of the country, news meteorologist Margaret Fairchild, played by Emily Blunt begins speaking on camera in an unfamiliar language of tongue clicks and guttural sounds. Earlier in the day, she encountered a cardinal who flew in through her window and locked eyes with her. Shortly afterward, she experienced psychic hits by which she could speak to strangers about life events that she would have no way of knowing about and had mastered languages that were not her native tongue. Apparently, Daniel can translate the sounds. Like Margaret, he has powers, the origin which he doesn’t discover until near the end of the film.
Daniel is being shepherded along by a mentor and former employee of Wardex named Hugo; the always heart thumping Colman Domingo. He helps them go into hiding until the information is revealed to the world. Hugo is determined that “This 79-year terror campaign of lies has to end.”
Attempting to thwart the release of the evidence of evil doing of multiple decades of government cover ups, thinking it would upset the world order and throw the country into turmoil. Oh, I forgot to mention, that the world was already on the brink of WWIII when the film began. The baddest of the baddies was portrayed with menace by Colin Firth. He uses a special tool that looks like a large crystal to invade people’s minds and get them to do his bidding. He warns that divulging what Daniel firmly believes the world has a right to know, “That truth will upend all established order across the entire world.”
The themes of faith, love, healing, communication, unveiling secrets, empathy, and benevolent life forms from other planets are woven throughout the movie. And no one ran screaming when they learned what had been happening for decades. There were no riots, no violence. Just being mesmerized by the message.
The final word in the film? “Listen.”
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