Disclosure

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

Sexual harrassment soars to new concepts in this compelling film based on the novel of the same title by Michael Chricton.

Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas) is psyched up about his promotion at DigiCom. But, as he arrives at work that morning, he finds out that the promotion never happened, but the position of Vice President was given to a woman. Of course, its not just any woman, its Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore), a woman from his past. Sanders discloses that he once was in a whirlwind romance with Meredith, but they parted ways and he came to Seattle, married, and started a family. Now, she wants nothing more to rekindle their romance, which Sanders doesn't want. An after-hours encounter leads to Meredith crying sexual harrassment, Sanders claiming he was the one who was really harrassed. Now, Sanders must be able to push past her power and status to show people what Meredith is really all about.

This was a great movie, based on an amazing novel. Douglas as Tom Sanders is what I expected, middle aged with a family, successful. However, the novel describes Meredith Johnson as blonde, while Demi Moore was not what I really pictured. However, her performance as "Super-Bitch" Meredith is convincing. She makes you hate her, no matter how much you like the characters she played in other films.

The part where Sanders struggled with Johnson in her office was extremely graphic. My mom predicted that I would cover my eyes, but I was very fascinated with it. In the book, this particular scene was EXTREMELY long, about 15 pages.

In conclusion, I thought "Disclosure" was a very well-done film with a great cast. Performances by Moore and Douglas were great, with a good supporting cast to back them up. It gives a good understanding of the American Legal System and sexual harrassment, and proves that sexual harrassment works on two levels. Sex is truly power, and if you have it, you have it, and if you don't...well, you'll have to work hard to prove yourself. I highly recommend seeing this film, but read the novel in addition to the movie. You won't regret it.

This is a pretty good drama with an excellent cast of characters. The story centers around Michael Douglas, who plays a division head in a high tech company in Seattle that is undergoing a merger. Demi Moore plays his old girlfriend, an aggressive corporate executive, who comes in and snatches away the job promotion he was counting on, then failing to seduce him after hours, files a false sexual harassment with the company in order to get rid of him.

It's interesting that although the story revolves around Michael Douglas's plight, it's the women who set the events in motion and who help the protagonist resolve the problem he's presented with. Female empowerment is the main theme of this movie.

Demi Moore gets perhaps her best movie role ever by playing the sexual predator to Michael Douglas's easygoing mid-level manager. She knows how to play the corporate game much better than him, and quickly boxes him into a dicey situation. How does a guy explain that it was his female boss who hit on him and not the other way around as she claims? Demi Moore controls the situation well for most of the movie, and plays the villain so well that the viewer really enjoys when she finally gets her comeuppance.

Roma Maffia does an excellent job of playing Michael Douglas's lawyer. He's lost on how to respond to the sexual harassment charges and what to do to preserve his job, and she forcefully takes over his defense and steers him towards a successful resolution. She also understands how the game is played and keeps her nerve when the company comes after her client.

Caroline Goodall plays Michael Douglas's wife and displays a perfect combination of anger and support while he resolves the charges against him. A lawyer herself, she understands the situation her husband has gotten into much better than he does, and is there for him as both an advisor and partner.

Rosemary Forsyth plays another female executive at the company who, without giving away the plot, mentors Michael Douglas through his dilemma. She's smart, but calm and principled, and in fact it is she, not Douglas, who eventually gets the promotion to head the company.

Even though Michael Douglas is the protagonist and eventually overcomes the crisis he's facing, his character is basically weak in the movie. He's carefree and unfocused at the outset, assuming the job promotion is his because he's done a good job for the company, and is completely blindsided when a woman takes it away from him and then threatens his career and his marriage. Douglas eventually takes charge and with alot of outside help and some improbable plot twists gets the upper hand, but in the cutthroat world of corporate intrigue, he's the little fish who gets lucky and swims out of the net.

Donald Sutherland hands in his usual fine performance as the president of the company. Dennis Miller plays a computer geek working for Michael Douglas and has a few humorous moments, but suddenly turns nasty in the middle of the movie and then just disappears. Dylan Baker plays a sort of Mr. Smithers kind of character to Donald Sutherland's Monty Burns, and is just egregious enough make you hate him, which is a good sign of a performance well done.

There are a few plot twists that offend the viewer's senses and things are wrapped up just a bit too neatly, but all in all, this is pretty good entertainment from start to finish. The movie touches an important issues, sexual harassment in the workplace, and makes it more interesting by making the woman the aggressor and the man the victim. Not surprisingly, I noticed that women gave this movie a higher average rating than did the men.

'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'.