Review of Detachment (2011) by Andrew S — 19 Sep 2012

Pretty much the only place Detachment suffers is a few moments of choppy, unnatural acting. However, it's a rare drama that doesn't rely on bold, pitch-perfect performances to carry the film, but rather a brutal yet focused mindset on the real issues the film examines with honesty and no false answers to try soften the blow.

Adrian Brody plays a substitute English teacher named Henry, who is filling in for a week or so at a failing inner city high school. His first encounter with the students in his first hour class results in an unruly, disrespectful young man being sent out within minutes. Henry is completely untouched by any words thrown at him, yet not in any power-asserting way. He kicks out the student with literally no care. He doesn't tell the student to go the dean's office or anywhere specific; go anywhere, just get out of the classroom if he doesn't want to learn.

Henry is also a great teacher. His students love him even after only having him for only a couple days. He is not nourishing, but he is understanding, letting his students talk to him while keeping his distance. His most prominent characteristic seems to be the titular sense of Detachment. Henry is not the optimistic teacher we've seen in countless education based films where a teacher strive to lift his or her student's spirits up. Henry is cynic, haunted by a past not made clear but hinted at. He talks about teachers entering the field with aspirations to make a difference, build future leaders, and change a culture of failure into one of achievement, before running into the harsh reality that there is only so much an educator can do. We're left to wonder if Henry is talking about himself or not.

The film does not follow a conventional plot. It exists within a certain timeframe, but one that can be placed at any time at any school in the country. Watching the movie is like looking through a lens that shows a general picture of the public school system. Tony Kaye doesn't use this picture to make any statements. He's not interesting in giving any opinions. Detachment is a true work of art that takes an objective look at a vital issue without pointing any fingers, not calling for instant resolutions.

Too many dramas place too much weight on their actors to carry the film's power. Detachment hold it's own. Many sequences of dialog do not sound natural - particular scenes where Henry has one on one conversations with students - and they are the weak spots in this film. However, these scenes hardly affect the viewing experience because the film never sets itself up to be all about singular performances. What's most important is what those moments add to the story, and how they reflect reality, even if it is not a perfect reenactment of reality. That said, Adrien Brody as Henry is not to be thrown under the bus. Brody leads an ensemble that does every character justice, even with limited screen time.

Detachment is not a film out to inspire anyone or give ideas on how to fix the system. It does nothing more than what a piece of filmmaking should do: make viewers think. Hopefully watching this film will cause one to consider what really is standing in the way of inner city children and a good education, and the answer is not bad teachers or not enough funding. Can you see what it is? I guess the follow up to that would be, "can anything really be done about it?".