Detachment (2011)

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

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden

8 wins & 6 nominations.

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	...	Meredith
Louis Zorich	...	Grampa
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Mr. Mathias
Chris Papavasiliou	...	Dr. Hart
Kwoade Cross	...	Andy

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.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | school | woman wearing black lingerie | part animation | animal abuse | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

O Substituto

Filming Locations:

Mineola High School - 10 Armstrong Road, Garden City Park, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,739, 18 March 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$71,177, 29 April 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paper Street Films, Appian Way, Kingsgate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Henry Barthes: A child's intelligent heart can fathom the depth of many dark places, but can it fathom the delicate moment of its own detachment?

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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

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Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.182 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Distress
Written by Taylor Eigsti

User Reviews

An unnerving yet brilliant account of the education system and its teachers

As classroom dramas go this may well be one the finest I have ever seen. A compelling insight into Americas failing education system and the beleaguered teachers that inhabit it.

The story centres around Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who spends three weeks at a high school where the students are as troubled as their teachers. Barthes, portrayed brilliantly by Adrien Brody, finds himself surrounded by individuals who have become jaded to the point of breaking.

His tale becomes even more complex when a chance encounter with a teenage prostitute, Erica, develops into an unconventional friendship. It's within this custodial dynamic that we see some of the films most poignant and heartbreaking moments, as well as some outstanding acting from Sami Gayle, who plays the vulnerable young girl that society has abandoned.

The film employs a three part cutaway technique with Henry Barthes providing a narrative in the form an interview, as well as flashbacks to his childhood - which allows us an insight into why he such a brooding and melancholic character. The flashbacks are often juxtaposed with scenes involving Barthes grandfather with whom he visits in hospital through out the film. The third cutaway is an animated chalkboard sequence which I felt conveyed a sense of culpability and lost innocence.

The film also boasts an extraordinary supporting cast; including James Caan, Marcia Gay Harden and a very brief appearance from Bryan Cranston, as well as a surprisingly fine turn from Lucy Liu- the schools doctor. The staffs sense of disillusionment and frustration, due to the students perpetual indifference to their own fate, is vented brilliantly by Liu in a scene that begs the question; "where, and when, did it all go wrong?"

Though dealing with very bleak subjects and despite the characters ceaseless sense of defeat and abject loathing for their profession, there are still some heart warming moments in the film. And though it offers no suggestion as to how we can amend such failings in our education system, and that parenting has in so many avenues of society become bereft of any moral guidance and adequacy, it still left me reassured that there are those who are still prepared to undertake such a daunting and thankless task.

If you're looking for an entertaining piece then I suggest you look elsewhere, but if you wish to see a brilliantly thought provoking film that raises more questions than it provides answers, and you're prepared for some uncomfortable moments, then you'll be rewarded with a film that is excellently written and directed and has some outstanding performances. A great film!