Detachment
2011
***½
Director: Tony Kaye
Cast: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Tim Blake Nelson, Betty Kaye, Sami Gayle, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, James Caan
Henry Barthes is a high school substitute teacher who doesn't want to tie himself down to anything permanent in order to keep his personal demons at bay and to shield himself from the toxicity of the public-school system. This grim and dreary drama from Carl Lund's first time script takes a scathing look at the broken American education system, where the students are out of control and unmotivated, the teachers are prison guards rather than educators, and the parents don't care what's going on as long as their kid stays out of trouble. Tony Kaye, who destroyed his Hollywood career by disowning American History X (1998), is not familiar with the concept of subtlety. His film is gripping and believable but also overdramatic and utterly depressing. There isn't a single character who is remotely happy. Nevertheless, the cast is impressive and Adrien Brody gives a solid lead performance.
