Detachment Directed by: Tony Kaye Starring: Adrian Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, Bryan Cranston Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: March 16, 2012
TRAILER SCORE: 8/10
Thoughts by TSR: Before I watched this trailer I thought to myself, “Do we really need another movie where a teacher makes it their life’s work to improve the students' lives?” There are plenty of quality films that use this formula, but it seemed redundant to do it again. Well, clearly I should have paid attention the day my teachers taught me not to judge a book by its cover, because Detachment looks quite good.
I appreciate how this seems to be an unflinching look at the difficulties teachers face. It doesn’t appear that it will get bogged down in all the typical clichés that these types of films run into, and that’s encouraging. I also like the look that director Tony Kaye is employing. It wouldn’t be appropriate if this was a slick, glossily shot film, so the almost cinéma vérité style fits well.
Even if all of the above wasn’t present I imagine I would still see this based solely on the tremendous cast. There’s not one of these people – save newcomer Sami Gayle – who I don’t have some level of affection for. Even Lucy Liu, who rarely impresses me, has Kill Bill: Vol. 1 to fall back on. While supporting players such as Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, and Tim Blake Nelson are great to have on board, this is mostly a showcase for Adrian Brody. The trailer isn’t shy about showering critical praise on its leading man, and it looks like he could live up to the hype.
There are already a number of March releases I’m looking forward to seeing; now I’ll be adding Detachment to the list. And if this trailer is any indication, it deserves a spot near the top.