Disclosure Day (12A)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
★★★☆☆

 

ALMOST 50 years after Close Encounters of the Third Kind which explored first contact, Steven Spielberg is back with another alien sci fi thriller which poses the question: what if it was all true, and could we handle the truth? 

Yes, the truth is out there in this companion film (not a sequel) which follows whistleblower Dr Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert for WARDEX, a shadowy US agency that has been keeping the evidence about an alien visitation dating back 79 years a secret. He is being pursued by WARDEX’s head Noah Scanlon (a chilling Colin Firth) who wants to stop him at all costs from going public. Meanwhile local TV weather presenter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) suddenly finds she can speak Russian, Korean and alien (emitting clicking sounds like a dolphin) after a red bird flies into her home. She can also read people’s minds having developed the power of empathy. She suddenly feels she has to find Kellner and help him. 

Based on a story by Spielberg and written by David Koepp, this is a riveting and thought-provoking film reminiscent of the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s while also proving itself as an old-fashioned race against time road movie with intense car chases and intricate, nail-biting action sequences. 

Set against a fictional geopolitical crisis, with North Korea about to instigate World War III, Scanlon is convinced the human race cannot deal with the consequences of knowing the reality Kellner is determined to unveil with disturbing archive film footage. 

It also examines what impact it would have on religion and people’s religious beliefs through Kellner’s girlfriend and former novitiate Jane (Eve Hewson, Flora and Son) who goes on the run with him. Would evidence of the existence of a higher being completely upend religion and faith? 

In a world run by narcissistic, self-serving greedy autocrats where fake news is rife and they are determined to silence dissent and end free speech, the film’s message about the power of empathy and how we should embrace it and find our humanity again hits home. It’s a no-brainer. 

O’Connor and Blunt are phenomenal as these two strangers who are fighting for the truth, aided by Colman Domingo as Hugo Wakefield Scanlon’s former friend and colleague who saw the light. 

While not mind-blowing, this is still solid Spielberg who brings a refreshing take on the alien film genre and must be seen on the big screen.

In cinemas now