User Reviews

"Detachment" is a gripping drama film directed by Tony Kaye, known for its raw portrayal of the American public school system and the challenges faced by both teachers and students. Released in 2011, the movie stars Adrien Brody as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who drifts from school to school, detached from emotional involvement yet deeply affected by the plight of the students he **** film delves into the harsh realities of contemporary education, touching on themes of apathy, disillusionment, and the struggle to connect in an increasingly disconnected world. Brody delivers a powerful performance as a man haunted by his own troubled past, yet compelled to make a difference in the lives of the students he encounters."Detachment" is not an easy watch; it confronts the audience with uncomfortable truths about the state of education and society at large. However, it is also a deeply moving and thought-provoking film that prompts reflection on the role of teachers, the impact of trauma on young lives, and the importance of empathy and connection.Kaye's direction is masterful, employing a gritty visual style and a non-linear narrative structure that adds to the film's sense of urgency and emotional intensity. The supporting cast, including Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, and James Caan, deliver standout performances, further enriching the film's portrayal of a world in crisis.Overall, "Detachment" is a poignant and provocative film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of compassion, understanding, and human connection in the face of adversity.

In connection with Detachment, the French film Entre les murs is repeatedly mentioned, which is also a disillusioning probe into the depths of current school conditions. The difference, of course, is that Cantet's film brilliantly uses the style of cinema verité, and therefore gives the impression of an unmediated "window into reality" - but it is, understandably, a careful construct, attempting to cover all problematic aspects of the school system in the form of a case study of one class and then one pupil . Detachment is mainly the opposite from a formal point of view - a syncretic work that flaunts its artificiality and stylization. Here we encounter completely unequivocal documentary elements (repeated cuts to an "interview" with Barthes/Brody, grainy shots from a hand-held camera, seemingly intuitive reframing of the camera, etc.), but also artistic narrative procedures (highly stylized subjective flashbacks, alternating formats, animated nipples, etc.), which are two seemingly incompatible areas of the filmmaking spectrum. Detachment can best be characterized as a frustrated cry with an attempt to appeal to the viewer through emotions - these are created here by a quick succession of heated situations that could never happen in such a short period of time in one place (one school) in reality, but here they are for us shoved under their noses in their most strained form. In addition, the film makes extensive use of fast-cut (in one scene, cleverly confusing) close-ups, which increase the impact of the unfolding situation or dialogue even more. It is, in a way, a frontal attack on the viewer's senses, which, however, finds justification in the hopelessness it discusses. The picture is a reflection of the chaos of one, or perhaps a collective mind, which does not know how to fix the system, but at the same time unfortunately knows that the system is completely **** up and dysfunctional. Here, it goes beyond the boundaries of educational institutions and, for example, in line with Henry's sick grandfather, the film also goes into the healthcare sector. "Surprisingly" it reveals a number of similarities: both environments are characterized by bureaucratic depersonalization consisting of paperwork hovering over the newly deceased, or in commercially oriented marketing presentations viewing education as a corporation tasked with fulfilling financial and other plans and generating profit. A lot of documentaries today play with elements of fiction and thus become a kind of hybrid that admits its manipulativeness or stylization - Detachment is a postmodern scattered fiction with elements of a documentary and a clearly appellative tone, which finds a certain ideological similarity with the agitation films of Michael Moore. And cinematography thus further sinks into an even more fragmented space, in which the differences between art and kitsch, pop culture and avant-garde, documentary and fiction, almost cease to exist.

After many tiktok clips of this movie popping up on my fyp, I finally gave this movie a chance. It did not dissapoint.

This is a sobering watch indeed, a thoughtful one with a strong emphasis on social commentary (the desire to make something of yourself, to believe in your ability etc.). Its perhaps a little like Dangerous Minds, only not so dramatic as such. Having been in education for many years, seeing how disinterested the numerous students were reminded me of situations I've seen myself. I liked that at times we (the viewer) are shown what appear to be drawings made out of chalk shown on old fashioned blackboards, drawings/images of birds taking flight, animals and so on. I suppose its to represent freedom and mobility (social mobility) perhaps. I thought that Adrien Brody did well portraying the substitute teacher, someone who can guess what may be behind some of his temporary pupils problems and issues but never having the time to be able to fully work with any of them, while we also see that he has his own emotional stresses in his own family life. This is a sad watch but its a good film. I liked the variety of characters present and I thought the film was well casted too, so overall I would recommend this film, yes.

The acting was really good, the movie was interesting and entertaining and it was a very well made movie. The only thing that drags the movie down was the fact that apart from the main character, the other teachers and the students were not very well developed and they were ultimately useless.

Detachment is not a movie or drama that you watch only! "each movie is a life", but do you use this sentence for all the movies which are on screen? absolutely no! Detachment is a lost part of our life. all the characters in this movie make a man, a human! This is movie about morality or high morality! It's Tony Kaye's never land. It is our surreal world among this bloody real world. Sometimes, I'm Henry, who is building his personality again. Sometimes, I'm Meredith, who is mixed up and need someone to be a permanent solution for her. somebody, after watching, maybe say that this is not a film. it is an exaggeration! This existentialist world does not belong to this world, especially American world. Well, I said this is Tony Kaye talkie. This is a dream world in his mind who thinks a better world among this corrupted real world. Who said that you must think all the characters are real and they are beside us? No, They our other moral parts! Detachment is not a lesson from a director. No, It just wants to show that you will be this if you want to be this.

Possibly one of the most underrated movies in 2012. "Detachment" gave an honest though a little too pessimistic at times insight into the complexity of how people cope with life's own complexity. With great performances from the cast, especially Oscar winner Adrien Brody and newcomer Sami Gayle and creative,story telling, "Detachment" is something really different and worth watching from the mixture of shallow scripted movies we are bombarded with in recent times.

Altho the film is a nearly relentless downer, the acting is terrific. All that makes my rating so low is that an awful lot of what the characters do makes little sense since we don't know who they are or what their story is. That being said, is it worth watching? Very much so, you might even leave with a pinch of hopefulness.

Adrien Brody was fantastic as the frazzled teacher trying to live despite the world seemingly going mad around him. Sami Gayle was also impressive as Erica. Despite the rather depressing subject matter, the quality acting made it so believable and Henry so endearing that I have fallen in love with this film. Brilliant!

Adrien Brody as seen better days (in terms of picking movies)... Detachment if off the hook providing the viewer an intense story about schools nowadays and great performances but fails short in terms of directing and a script so full of pseudo-philosophy that can confuse most of the people. It´s good but hard to understand.

Superb movie with great messages for the US education system (and the worldwide one, too) !! A must for parents, students and professional teachers. Also, proof that small budget films are usually much much better than their blockbusters cousins.

Great cast Adrien Brody is brilliant it's nice for a change to go see a movie that makes you sit up and think about life and how every day is a challenge and effects people in different ways and how we make it from day to day with whatever problems we have its a must see movie which will hopefully give you a new out look on life.

La educación es una de las grandes esferas de la estructura social y siempre se relaciona con la otra base, la familia. Hoy ambas están en crisis y genera fenómenos de todo tipo. La denuncia o la simple mirada de la transformación que se vive hoy en la escuela, hace que la reflexión y el legado que se está dejando no auguren un buen futuro. Detachment es una película contundente que llega a confrontar el rol que todo espectador ejerce en esta sociedad, pasivo o activo, estudiante o padre, comprometido o no con un entorno cada vez más salvaje para las nuevas generaciones. Ver más en: ****/news/dando-clases-de-insatisfaccion/

Adrien Brody's performance is very good, and the movie ends up being an inspiring drama.