Harcèlement

I have not read the Crichton novel, so I cannot compare the two. It's too seldom you see a thriller that really *works* without the threat being that of the protagonist(s) being physically harmed by someone chasing and/or attacking them. After his new female boss throws herself(quite literally) at him, Tom Sanders is in trouble. Who's going to believe him? The allegation sounds absurd, it seems. This is a believable scenario, and it remains that way through most of the film. The plot is interesting, and the twists and turns are unexpected. This has a marvelous pace, and it's never boring. It's exciting from start to finish. The leads have great chemistry, and all parts are well-cast. Every acting performance is riveting. Douglas, Moore and Sutherland are of course magnificent, and Miller is spot-on in a role that you can tell, as the Trivia confirms, was written to fit him. Cinematography and editing are good. The special effects do look a tad dated, and I'm not sure the film absolutely needed that portion, but they do the job fine. Computers and such in this are not completely credible, it is Hollywood after all. This touches upon important subjects, and treats them with respect. Barry Levinson does an impeccable job directing. There is no nudity, one sequence of strong sex, and a moderate amount of unrestrained language in this. I recommend this to any fan of those involved in making it and/or the book(possibly). 7/10

'Disclosure' is not to be missed. The plot is well-known enough not to be summarized here, but suffice it to say that this movie is loaded with crackling drama, edge-of-your-seat suspense, witty and snappy dialogue (best line - Garvin, on transferring Sanders to Austin: "Making a lateral move to Austin is like a duck making a lateral move to 'a l'orange'".) and a celluloid-melting seduction scene. Excellent acting all around (I like Michael Douglas, I don't care what they say), and the movie captures in a visceral way the high-powered, high-stakes, cutthroat world of business politics in the world of leading edge computer hardware and software development. My wife and I both give this one a straight 'A'.

A tale of sexual harassment in the office with a twist – this time, the guy is the victim and the woman the pursuer. Yes, it's another thriller that builds on Michael Douglas's typecasting as a victim of powerful women (following FATAL ATTRACTION and BASIC INSTINCT) but this one plays all the right cards. Part workplace drama, part courtroom thriller, and all the time invested with now-dated-but-then-cutting-edge technology (email, virtual reality) I found Disclosure to be never less than intriguing and well made. The Crichton source material helps, of course; I haven't yet seen a Crichton film that hasn't been thought-provoking and entertaining (even the worst, CONGO, isn't entirely without merit, although the book is loads better).

I've been seeing a lot of Douglas in recent months and my opinion of him has steadily improved to the degree that I can't remember him giving a bad performance. He's fine here, providing a key likable anchor for the film to revolve around, and playing opposite him Demi Moore is also a surprise: she oozes sexuality and selfishness in equal measure, proving a powerful enemy at all times. Moore isn't the world's greatest actress but this might well be her best performance in a film.

The courtroom scenes, tense and full of electricity, are undoubtedly the film's highlights and there are supporting actors to relish (Donald Sutherland, Allan Rich and in particular a slimy Dylan Baker). It's not a perfect film, but it is a reminder of the kind of solid, sensual thriller that got made during a sometimes forgotten decade of filmmaking.

I'm really surprised that there are next-to-no comments on this excellent thriller. It has been on ITV many times now, but I have only just caught it now after reading a second-hand copy of the novel. This thriller deals with the inequality between men and women in the corporate workplace brilliantly, displaying the clichéd attitudes of so-called friends and colleagues. this film has a real moral to it that rises it up from the blockbuster it is intended to be. The plight of the man against the megalomaniac female corporate boss seems quite desperate against the political correctness of the 90's, but is also sadly realistic showing what an unphilanthropic, complicated world this sometimes is. Especially in the ever-dominant world of corporations, simple human empathy is lost against a backlash of other most often selfish concerns. Michael Douglas as Tom was superb, although the acting of Meredith was sometimes a bit too clichéd, although this of course is what it was meant to be. All-in-all a very enjoyable, gripping thriller with all the plot that only usually a novel adaptation can give, exploring a real contemporary issue which other thrillers typically leave blank.

Disclosure is directed by Barry Levinson and co-adapted to screenplay by Paul Attanasio and Michael Crichton from Crichton's own novel of the same name. It stars Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Donald Sutherland, Roma Maffia, Dylan Baker, Caroline Goodall and Rosemary Forsyth. Music is scored by Ennio Morricone.

Tom Sanders (Douglas) is an executive at DigiCom, a high-tech computer company, who hopes that now it's finally his time to get promotion. Passed over for an outsider, he's further irked when it turns out to be Meredith Johnson (Moore), an old passionate flame of his from years previously. When Meredith arranges for a meeting between the two later that evening, Tom finds himself sexually harassed by her. Spurning her aggressive overtures, Tom is shocked to learn the next day that she has filed a charge of sexual harassment against him. He naturally counters the charge, but this opens up a can of worms for both him and the future of DigiCom.

The 1990s practically belonged to Michael Crichton, it seemed for a time that everything he wrote was adapted to the big screen for some form of entertainment. With Jurassic Park still warm and still garnering bucket loads of cash, two other Crichton adaptations worked their way into theatres; both of which were a world away from the family friendly extravaganza of Jurassic Park. One was Rising Sun, a messy wasted potential of a movie, the other was Disclosure, a zeitgeist snatcher that seized the moment.

The topic, and the novelty of flipping the gender aggressor, was always going to make Disclosure of much interest, thus the film and the novel made big money: aided still further by the hot casting of Douglas and Moore, who were still draw cards in the early 90s. Crichton, after being displeased with other adaptations of his work, got big say on the screenplay as a written project. So with director Levinson in tow, he set about pushing the buttons of his audience, attempting to continue the heated debates that were brought about previously from Douglas' Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. If it's Crichton's or Levinson's fault that it didn't work out that way? I'm not sure, but fact is, is that Disclosure really wasn't that potent back then, and certainly now it's not even lukewarm.

There's too much techno babble going on, and an over keenness to stick the nose up at the big business vultures picking the flesh off of the lesser minions. Entering the last half hour of the film, it's easy to forget there has actually been a sexual harassment case! Here's the crux of the matter, if going in to it for a first time viewing expecting this to be a powder-keg of sexual harassment muckiness and legal intrigue, then you are in for a big disappointment. I know, because I was one of the paying patrons at the theatre back in 94! You sense that one of the makers got a bit carried away…

Yet the film still has much going for it if stripped of that expectation, not least that it packs a pile of tension in that last half hour and the finale is rather rewarding. I'd go as far to say I'm a fan of the film, but it's not the film I originally went to see! There's a trio of interesting and differing female characters at the front of the narrative, even if Moore's stair-master vixen isn't exactly developed beyond being a bitch, and the virtual reality sequences have an appealing charm about them. The cast are turning in good ones, with a notable shout out to Caroline Goodall who wisely underplays it as the wife. While the interior set design (Gary Lewis/Joseph Hodges) for the DigiCom HQ is wonderful with its 90s excess of glass meeting mirrors and open spaces. Which leaves us with what?

A film that is not what you expect! Which in this case is both disappointing and a surprise. 7/10