Detachment

A pretty dark movie but completely relatable to anyone who has ever struggled with depression, feeling isolated & alone. I watched this when I was feeling down & it uplifted me to see the struggles the characters are facing. Everyone has their own struggles, and we're only human.

I love Adrien Brody's acting, but had never heard of this film until it was suggested by a friend. I have to say, it is sad. Sad is the main descriptor that comes to mind. I think it makes many honest points about where America is going in terms of family relationships and also the role of institutionalized education in young people's lives.... When families are so messed up, and kids are almost on the edge of PTSD symptoms in terms of what they have been exposed to, who has the intellectual space for learning subjects that are detached from the reality of their lives? Have we become a society where people not only do not care, but the way institutions are run, we are not allowed to care? At what point does the importance of outcomes outweigh personal involvement and compassion? This movie provokes a lot of questions, but offers little solutions... but it isn't meant to. Rather, it is more of a grim story which essentially tells us the road we are traveling down socially, and suggests that perhaps we have gone too far to turn back.My one criticism with this movie is that, by the end, the pathos has gone a bit too far. There is so much negativity, rarely balanced out by positive emotions, and the final events of the movie made me feel like they were over-reaching with the tragedy. It was enough to know what was probably going to happen with certain characters without having it played out.

How is this possible? I suppose my experiences as a substitute teacher are far more common than I thought, since many of the most painful parts of this teaching drama feel like an unauthorized biography. Even the film's side plots - such as caring for a declining family member with senile dementia - feel alarmingly familiar. The character's personal foibles, such as his inability to maintain permanent personal and professional relationships, are my own.Who wrote this?For teachers - especially subs - this will be an affirmation of their experiences. For those outside of the teaching profession, few will see it. Frankly, it's hard to find. Outsiders will consider it an exaggeration. Other than the prostitute side-story, it's actually pro forma for those of us on the inside. For the tiny group of non-teachers who see and accept this painful story, this question will follow: "Why do you sub?!" The reasons are two-fold: a strange adrenaline rush from plunging into chaos and creating order, and the messianic belief that one is performing a vital public service. Many subs in America mutter to themselves as they trudge to another assignment: "This place would tear itself apart if it weren't for me."But James Caan (remember him?) says it adroitly in this film: "The hardest part is that no one says 'Thank you.'" Consider this: the common term which school secretaries use for subs is "W.B." No doubt you've deduced its meaning: "Warm Body."

A fine appearance by Adrian as a substitute teacher at a high school on the downward slope of social and economic reality. Only sparse glimpses of other students' and teachers' lives, but one can almost feel suffocated by the loveless, thankless monotony of their seemingly useless daily grind. This suffocating feeling I also felt reflected in the closed world as depicted in the scenes in the classroom and his apartment. There are other locations too, but these are the most obvious.Visually, the colors are subdued, the scenes rather stark and lifeless. This film starts off as if it might be a documentary, so take that as a clue as to its tone and pace. This isn't going to be watched for entertainment. No action scenes. No high drama, unless inner turmoil and emotional anguish is enough drama for you. There doesn't seem to be much plot, which is sometimes what life feels like. Then again, he has a dying grandpa, a fleeting job and a solitary home life, so who needs a plot?Sami Gayle is also notable as one of the characters who chance into his emotionally detached world. There are several difficult moments in this film, but some of the scenes with her are also some of the most touching I have seen in a long time.

This is one of the best films of 2011. It is definitely an arthouse type film, and is quiet and leisurely paced, so beware that if you are not a fan of reality based films of this type, you may be disappointed. This drama centers on Adrian Brody, a substitute teacher who takes on long term assignments.It takes place in a diverse high school on Long Island, and is not a happy film, nor one of those films where a teacher turns a class of misfits around. Rather, it realistically shows the uphill battle being a teacher can be today, with the pressure to raise test scores, and the dangers faced by angry or troubled students. Brody plays a lonely man who tries to do his best, but where any closeness with his students is viewed with suspicion (due to theserious sexual violations by a few bad apples) going back to the disproved McMartin case that led to mass hysteria in the 80's. He befriends a teen prostitute who tries to come on to him on the street, and tries to help a girl who is contemplating suicide. This is extremely realistic and heart wrenching at times, but riveting once you get into it. Brody also narrates in between some scenes. Meant for the serious viewer, not fans of escapism.

Great film but the version that I got was the German language version first and English 2nd, lucky for me I can navigate the menu easily to set it to spoken english.My wife hates the fact she now has to ask me to set it so she can watch. Amazon, a tip for you, put in LARGE letters which language version is first on the dvd so people can select accordingly before buying, for that ..I award minus 2000 stars for inconvenience caused but 10/10 for the storyline and acting. Excellent film.

Très bien merci

Me gusta mucho este actor y me interesaba el problema que sufren los profesores día a día con el mal comportamiento de sus alumnos y los problemas en que derivan, en el ámbito personal dicho trabajo. Creo que refleja muy bien la sociedad en la que vivimos y es una buena reflexión hacia esta profesión muy mal valorada.

This is such a remarkably moving observation of modern ostracization! Without pointing the finger, it forces us to witness the unbecoming of our social fabric as Americans. Well shot with documentary style cinematography and performances by Brody and Sami Gayle are simply moving.A must see! 8.5/10 for the film!

Alcuni film vengono penalizzati da una distribuzione ingrata, che li relega alle poco frequentate proiezioni estive, eppure sono dei capolavori, toccanti miracoli di grazia e di poesia. Detachment – Il distacco uscirà oggi nelle sale italiane in poche copie e sarà una meteora veloce, un’occasione breve di incontro che forse pochi spettatori avranno la fortuna di poter fare.La storia è quella di Henry Barthes, un supplente di letteratura che porta i suoi insegnamenti nelle scuole pubbliche delle degradate periferie americane, popolate da studenti svogliati e aggressivi, e in cui alcuni insegnanti, allo stremo delle forze, tentano di portare a termine un percorso educativo che ha il sapore amaro di una lontana utopia. L’incontro con i nuovi alunni, le discussioni tra i colleghi, la conoscenza con una giovane prostituta (Sami Gayle) e l’assistenza al nonno in una casa di riposo sono le tappe del percorso che il personaggio interpretato da Adrien Brody compie, in una sorta di cammino che assomiglia al calvario di un laico – ma misericordioso – messia contemporaneo. Con grazia il film si costruisce in inquadrature brevi, lievi tocchi di regia che non hanno mai la pretesa di spiegare ma si limitano a suggerire, lasciando intuire il corso di esistenze malinconiche, che si dipingono sulle facce stanche di tutti i bravissimi attori, che, con credibilità e talento, riescono a rappresentare archetipi di eroi dolenti, vinti dall’indifferenza di una vita a cui, si lascia intendere, è inutile chiedere la restituzione di un qualsivoglia senso.Questa pellicola di Tony Kaye tocca temi scomodi, che il regista sceglie di raccontare affidandosi a un linguaggio visivo che attinge da diversi campi artistici (dai disegni animati alle suggestioni della fotografia in bianco e nero, dal linguaggio della poesia a sequenze visive dai rimandi onirici), per provare a raccontare la solitudine delle anime fragili, di quelle persone che si trovano, sole, ad affrontare gli ostacoli della vita. Detachment è un lavoro complesso, che non teme di sconvolgere lo spettatore mostrando separazioni strazianti, sentimenti viscerali e scomposti che sono evidenti nella supplica di un abbraccio che non è possibile concedere, in decisioni laceranti che è inevitabile prendere, dove alcune fughe dal male di vivere non hanno nessuna possibilità di ripensamento; eppure per raccogliere il senso profondo di questa storia, forse, basta abbandonarsi alla bellezza di una fotografia raffinatissima, all’eleganza delle immagini che si offrono allo sguardo e alla grazia della poesia, per provare a dire di quel senso di smarrimento comune che l’arte dei grandi poeti, come quel Poe citato dal professor Barthes nelle riflessioni che chiudono il film, seppe scrivere centinaia di anni fa. Un’opera dalla potenza struggente, difficile da dimenticare, che accompagna lo spettatore a lungo, una volta terminata la visione.