Disconnect

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At last there is a film that places before our eyes and ears and minds the intrinsic dangers of the now ubiquitous ether cloud of substitute life/communication. The number of identity thefts, suicides, fraudulent dealings, and the accompanying waste of human brain time from the ever-present cellphone or pad or laptop has grown to appalling proportions and it just may help for the general audience to watch this film and witness how deleterious our 'advanced communication' has become. Written by Andrew Stern and directed with phenomenal sensitivity and dexterity by Henry Alex Rubin (both rather newcomers on the cinema scene), this is a film that deserves wide recognition at awards time and definitely wide attendance by audiences. Hard-working lawyer Rich Boyd (Jason Bateman), attached to his cell phone, can't find the time to communicate with his wife Lydia (Hope Davis) and son Ben (Jonah Bobo) and daughter Abby (Haley Ramm). A couple (Alexander Skarsgård and Paula Patton) is drawn into a dangerous situation while investigating the computer hacking of their complete finances when their own secrets are exposed online: they stalk a simple worker Stephen Schumacher (Michael Nyqvist) who becomes caught up in their obsession. A widowed ex-cop (Frank Grillo) struggles to raise a mischievous son Jason (Colin Ford) who with his cohort Frye (Aviad Bernstein) cyber-bullies a classmate, the haunted and taunted musician Ben. An ambitious journalist Nina Dunham (Andrea Riseborough) sees a career-making story in teen Kyle (Max Thieriot) who performs * on an adult-only chatroom. They are strangers, neighbors and colleagues and their stories collide in this riveting dramatic thriller about ordinary people struggling to connect in today's wired world. It takes a suicide attempt to tie all of these stories together. Every member of this cast is excellent, the pacing of the film is over the speed limit as well it should be, and the manner in which each of these seemingly disparate stories is told in overlapping fashion and finally in impressive slow motion pushes this cinematic piece into an art work with a blisteringly tough message. It is a wakeup call, hopefully not too late to change. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

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