Disclosure Day is director Steven Spielberg’s latest revisit of his career-spanning obsession with extraterrestrials, this time promising to answer the age-old question of whether aliens exist and have visited us once and for all.

The film takes us right into the middle of action as we are introduced to cybersecurity specialist Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), who is cornered by armed mercenaries deployed by Wardex Corporation, a secret arm of the U.S. government. Led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), the mercenaries intend to retrieve the data and a strange otherworldly device stolen by Daniel before he discloses the truth about extraterrestrials to the world.

Meanwhile, Kansas City weather presenter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) finds herself able to speak various languages and even understand the thoughts and emotions of others after an encounter with a red cardinal that flies into her home one morning. This culminates in her speaking an unknown alien-like language during a live broadcast and being hospitalised after she collapses. She realises immediately, however, that she is being pursued by Wardex, and her instincts drive her to look for Daniel, whom she has never met before. A race against the authorities then begins to bring to light the greatest cover-up in human history.

Steven Spielberg is a master director, and Disclosure Day continues to demonstrate his prowess behind the camera. Action sequences are nail-biting and exhilarating. A particular sequence involving two cars and two trains is immediately iconic and harkens back to a similar sequence he did in his gripping feature film debut Duel back in 1971. There are definitely minor plot incongruities and contrivances that I had to overlook in order to enjoy certain sequences. For instance, no one in the film seemingly knows how to make good use of the guns they have strapped around them. (They are not just props!) Nevertheless, I expected a spectacle and Spielberg definitely delivered.

Emily Blunt delivers a powerhouse performance. There was a moment when I felt she almost reached a flow state with her delivery as she tried to explain to Josh O’Connor’s character what was happening to her. I was transfixed throughout. Colin Firth is deliciously intimidating and rageful as the film’s central villain, while Colman Dolmingo is the opposite – calm and collected, like an all-knowing guru.

Since Close Encounters of the Third Kind redefined the science fiction genre four decades ago, particularly in terms of how extraterrestrials are portrayed in movies, Spielberg has never relented in his pursuit of new ways to explore the topic on screen. Aliens have been portrayed as subjects of obsession, homesickness, destruction, and even as answers to mysteries surrounding ancient artifacts in Splielberg’s films, such as E.T., War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones. This time around, Spielberg is interested in the disclosure of alien existence to the world. The question posed by the film, to me, is not whether aliens exist, as that is established very quickly. Rather, the film asks us to assume that aliens exist and ponder the implications if such information is made public.

In my opinion, information is key to understanding the film. Disclosure Day meditates on our relationship with the disclosure of information, both as individuals and as a society. While the film focuses on aliens and how the revelation of their existence relates specifically to religion and creationism, they can be seen as a stand-in for any kind of groundbreaking information that would shake the foundations of societal beliefs.

Most recently, the Epstein Files have been making the rounds in the news, and the lead-up to the public disclosure of their contents sparked discussions about whether the files should even be made public, as doing so could collapse the “system”. I find this film extremely timely and relevant. Fundamentally, society thrives on the idea of a conspiracy or a shocking hidden truth. We are conditioned to believe that we are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes. When the truth comes out, however, there is always skepticism and cynicism. We are not satisfied.

When the credits rolled, I immediately felt that the film lacked a final act that delved deeper into that relationship. Skepticism is almost non-existent, and the cynic in me believes that the film’s final moments are nothing more than Spielberg viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses, coupled with a hint of blind optimism that does not reflect the true nature of our society. Maybe this is what Spielberg believes our society should be – full of empathy and understanding, values that have been crucially lacking in our world in recent years.

Author: Chia Jing Heng (andreusjh99)