Disclaimer premieres with two episodes on Apple TV+ on October 11, followed by new episodes weekly concluding on November 8.
By Elazar Abrahams
Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) makes the jump from the silver screen to television in Disclaimer, a new miniseries based on Renée Knight’s 2015 novel of the same name. The seven episodes, which star Cate Blanchett at the helm, ooze prestige, but lack the juice to be something truly great.
Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, an acclaimed journalist whose seemingly perfect life begins to unravel when she receives a mysterious novel. The book reveals secrets from her past that threaten to destroy not only her reputation but also her family. Blanchett, as expected, delivers a great performance, portraying a woman whose life is disintegrating before her eyes with raw intensity. While Blanchett anchors the series with her usual brilliance, it’s the supporting cast that truly elevates the drama, each offering compelling perspectives on Catherine’s past.
Sacha Baron Cohen is superb as Robert, Catherine’s emasculated husband, whose reaction to learning about her past affair sets him down a petty, self-destructive path. Similarly, Kodi Smit-McPhee’s portrayal of Nicholas, their already estranged son, adds further depth as he reacts to his mother’s dark past, spiraling further into disillusionment. These side plots add richness to a tale that is, at its heart, about the destruction of trust.
Most notable about Disclaimer is its unique narrative structure. The show deftly jumps between two timelines, slowly revealing the old secrets that Catherine is desperate to keep buried. The longer you spend with the show, the more fun this becomes. At first, the narration seems belabored and unnecessary, but as viewers begin to realize the significance of what each point of view brings to the scene, down to the tenses used, it becomes pretty exciting. Plus, switching between Catherine and antagonist Stephen Brigstocke (a delightful Kevin Kline), the show spends ample time with both its protagonist (if you can even call her that) and villain. Stephen’s desire for revenge initially feels sympathetic, but in the homestretch of the miniseries, he gets up to some truly heinous actions for which there’s not much forgiveness to be granted.
Parcelling out some of the reveals for a good chunk of the season smartly keeps viewers engaged, and overall, Disclaimer is a well-paced thriller. But that also means that when the finals twists eventually do come, expectations are high. All that gathering steam, learning more and more about the central scandal, ultimately lands with a faint thud rather than a bang. The show wraps up its loose ends, but the answers feel a bit underwhelming, given the build-up. The resolution is there, but it is a weak point of the series. While disappointing, the cast and creative team do a good job selling it.
Visually, Disclaimer is stunning and in line with what audiences have come to expect from Apple TV+ productions. Cuarón gives the whole show a cinematic feel. It’s not enough to escape the ways in which the series doesn’t fully deliver on its promise, but it’s a pretty nice consolation.
I give Disclaimer a B+.
TV and City 