Disclosure Day

By Joanna Langfield

This hugely entertaining, multi dimensional thriller is one only Steven Spielberg could have made. Because, even though this questioning of our place in the universe is decidedly of our moment, the movie also feels like the third leg of a trilogy he started with E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Daniel Koepp’s screenplay melds mystery and thrills with philosophic mysticism, mixing traditional action elements with wonder. It’s not just why haven’t we been told about non-human visitations that have occurred over the years, it’s also about what will happen if we find out.

Lofty? Sure. But Spielberg locks into his irresistible knack for telling us a story while making sure we have a perfectly wonderful time. A grand cast, led by the glorious Emily Blunt, carries us along as Margaret, a tv weather person in the American Midwest, suddenly finds herself speaking foreign languages and reading the innermost thoughts of those around her. And she knows they are after her. Even though she doesn’t know who they are. Instinctively, she knows that she must find Daniel Kellner, a man she’s never met, who is also on the run.

Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Even Hewson and Colman Domingo are nifty in support, but, along with Blunt, the real stars of this movie are the action sequences. Seen, as I did, in IMAX, not only can you not take your eyes off the screen, but, at a few points, I couldn’t breathe. They are that great. I’m sure there will be viewers more overwhelmed by the science “fiction”(?) scenes than I was, sequences I felt went on just a tad too long. But who could not be moved by the unmissable appeals for empathy and listening, themes Spielberg has laced into most of his best work, even when introducing us to aliens some have been taught to fear.