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

In the morning of Erica's first stay in Henry's flat, we see Henry on the roof wearing the ring which Erica will give him days later as a present.

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Quotes

Henry Barthes: It doesn't take strength Meredith, you've gotta understand that, unfortunately, most people lack self awareness.

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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 #6.46 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Distress
Written by Taylor Eigsti

User Reviews

Touching, an inspiration to change.

A story about a teacher who wants to make a difference. Very touching story with some twisted story lines about real life. It makes you see how hard life can be for a lot of adolescents. Of course, the people in this movie project some of the saddest life stories and not everybody has it this hard, but I think a lot of people can recognize some of the life problems of this movie.

Adrien Brody projects the right emotions at the right time in the movie. Sadness, happiness, joy and trauma, every feeling has its place in this movie. The use of real students and an existing school in combination with great filming gives the viewer the feeling its all real. A quality that makes a movie great.

The movie inspired me. I'm a elementary school teacher and I see a lot of kids, sometimes heading in the wrong direction. It gave me a feeling of hope and drive to help these children, even if it seems hopeless.

Please, go and see this wonderful movie!