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Detachment (2011)

Trailer
2:05 | Trailer
A substitute teacher who drifts from classroom to classroom finds a connection to the students and teachers during his latest assignment.

Director:

Tony Kaye

Writer:

Carl Lund
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Popularity
4,655 ( 650)
8 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody ... Henry Barthes
Marcia Gay Harden ... Principal Carol Dearden
James Caan ... Mr. Charles Seaboldt
Christina Hendricks ... Ms. Sarah Madison
Lucy Liu ... Dr. Doris Parker
Blythe Danner ... Ms. Perkins
Tim Blake Nelson ... Mr. Wiatt
William Petersen ... Mr. Sarge Kepler
Bryan Cranston ... Mr. Dearden
Sami Gayle ... Erica
Betty Kaye Betty Kaye ... Meredith
Louis Zorich ... Grampa
Isiah Whitlock Jr. ... Mr. Mathias
Chris Papavasiliou ... Dr. Hart
Kwoade Cross ... Andy
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Storyline

Detachment is a chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment. A perfect profession for one seeking to hide out in the open. One day Henry arrives at his next assignment. Upon his entry into this particular school, a secret world of emotion is awakened within him by three women. A girl named Meredith in his first period. A fellow teacher Ms. Madison, and a street hooker named Erica, whom Henry has personally granted brief shelter from the streets. Each one of these women, like Henry, are in a life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world. Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

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Parents Guide:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Betty Kaye (Meredith) is the daughter of Director Tony Kaye. See more »

Goofs

Boom mic visible reflected in the glass as Henry and Erica come out of the hospital. See more »

Quotes

Henry Barthes: Whatever is on my mind, I say it as I feel it, I'm truthful to myself; I'm young and I'm old, I've been bought and I've been sold, so many times. I am hard-faced, I am gone. I am just like you.
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Crazy Credits

[intertitle near start] And never have I felt so deeply at one and the same time so detached from myself and so present in the world. - Albert Camus See more »

Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.46 (2012) See more »

Soundtracks

Distress
Written by Taylor Eigsti
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User Reviews

 
Best Movie of 2011
27 November 2011 | by feguizaSee all my reviews

Saw this at a local film festival with little to no information about the movie whatsoever; little did I know this was going to become my favorite film of the year, and that's saying a lot given that 2011 has been a blast for moviegoers with new products by Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, Lars Von Trier and Clint Eastwood.

The movie revolves around an poignant substitute teacher (perfectly played by Adrien Brody) who arrives at a vicious school, where students go around bullying people (including the teachers) and basically throwing their lives directly to the dumpster…you know, teenage angst and such…I didn't grow up in the USA, so two important things I must say, a) I don't know if this is an accurate depiction of any given school in America and b) I can't relate with the overall chronicle, which brings me to my next point.

The beauty of this movie comes within the subtext, whether you can directly relate with the characters or not, the movie takes the message and widens its range so everyone is able to understand the actual meaning of the film. Let's clear things out, this film is not about a school or the basis of education, this is about trying our best not to give a damn about others as most of us just go around doing everything in our power to be happy ourselves with a lousy job, a loveless marriage, a constant sense of abandonment or basically a crappy life (all of the above portrayed marvelously in the film).

Films by Tony Kaye tend to be really visceral with a thin slice of optimism in the undertones, I think this time he just went mental about everything, in the end you'll leave the theater with a slight sense of hopelessness, almost as if you're destined to watch daily misery without the power to control anything but your own life, as if the only battle you must fight is the constant reminder that even when everything falls apart and slowly turns into dust, you can't change the world, you just have to avoid the world from changing you…This exposed stunningly in the final sequence of the movie.

Do yourself a favor, watch this film!


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 2012 (France) See more »

Also Known As:

Détachement See more »

Filming Locations:

Long Island, New York, USA See more »

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Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,739, 18 March 2012

Gross USA:

$72,689

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,688,710
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1
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