Review: Disconnect

Starring: Jason Bateman, Jonah Bobo, Haley Ramm
Directed by: Henry-Alex Rubin
Language: English
Rating: R
Running Time: 115 minutes

After being pleasantly surprised by What Maisie Knew, my curiosity came back to look up more movies with Alexander Skarsgård. I already enjoy his acting abilities in True Blood and I didn't know he had a part in The Giver. With that, I remembered that I wanted to watch more things with him in it.


In today's world, technology is evolving everyday. Some people argue that the advancement in technology brings us closer together and others may counter that it is distancing us from strengthening our relationships. The story follows three different plot points that somewhat intertwine with each other, but mostly by theme. A father dependent on his cell phone and distracted by his career struggling to communicate with his family, a couple who refuse to find resolution to their past and use the internet to distract them from fixing it, and a news reporter who finds interest in a teenager who makes a living by performing on adult-only websites.

Similar to What Maisie Knew, the other Alexander Skarsgård movie I watched and reviewed, I had no idea what this movie was about. I had some guesses like maybe the movie is about the evils of technology or a world where technology is banned and a small group of people are hiding it from the government. Of course, it's really neither of these things as you can see from the synopsis. The difference in experiencing this movie before viewing is this time I haven't heard any comments about it at all. So, I went into this completely blind. The reason I bring this up is because I didn't know what to expect and once the movie started with a guy working for an adult site, I had no idea where it was going let alone having three stories progressing simultaneously. Usually, this can be pretty complicated to execute and can easily confuse the audience such as the overly ambitious Cloud Atlas. Fortunately, this movie does a better job of keeping their three linear storylines straight while subtly intertwining them to the movie's common theme.



The reason I wanted to do a full review of this movie is to not only give it proper recognition, but to give it some praise and encourage you guys, my awesome Cult followers, to check this out. Of course, I have to offer a little more to this review. Aside from executing the three stories in a clear structure, each of them were very engaging and relevant to real life. It doesn't glamorize or overdramaticize any of the situations either. The movie tackles cyber-bullying, miscommunication between family members, neglecting an unfortunate situation between married couples, and doing whatever it takes to support yourself. The actors portrayed these situations in a very realistic manner and you can't help but sympathize with their situations or at least feel something for them. Everyone has the best intentions for each other or has their own problems that are restraining them from moving forward until something major happens. The interactions between each character and how they grow over time makes this movie really worth watching, especially once you reach the end of the movie. You might not be completely happy with the results, but it's almost exactly what the movie needs.

I must admit that it does take a little bit of patience to get into it from the beginning, but it does offer something intriguing at the introduction. You wonder what's going and where things are going, then you realize that three different stories are going on. There's no loud climax, everything progresses very quietly, but has some stand out, tug at your heartstrings moments. These moments are unexpected and you do feel a sense of panic and hope for the best along with the characters. In the end, this quiet emotional ride is really worth the pay off and the message it leaves you. I urge you, my lovely Cult followers, to give this movie a chance. Watch it with an open mind and a bit of patience.



Rating: 4/5

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