As politicians, whistleblowers, and internet sleuths continue debating UFO disclosure, Steven Spielberg returns to the subject that has fascinated him for decades. Disclosure Day is less concerned with proving that aliens exist than with asking who has been keeping the secret.
When I was walking out of the parking lot of the industrial complex of the cinema after watching Disclosure Day, I heard one viewer remark, “It was great, but I’m the kind of person that likes to have answers.”
If only that could be a longer discussion, before driving back to suburban life.
It’s precisely “answers” that the UFO community and now the mainstream public have been craving, especially after a couple of evidence tranches, or file dumps, from the White House, which have been kept in the dark, largely down to the Department of Defense.
And sure, that is one of the layers to this cosmic cake that we’ve got going on over here. Featuring Roswell, as well as Area 51-style tropes, there is certainly an exploration, though no deep dive into disreputable corporate concealment. Colin Firth is excellent as the villainous Noah Scanlon – the ruthless head of Wardex.
And as celestial comments gurgle out from politicians like JD Vance, putting unearthly tropes all up in your cosmic social feed, Disclosure Day taps into that holiness vibe, thankfully without ever getting into true demonic territory, save for the evil corporations.
Raiders of the Lost Files
Spielberg loves throwbacks. And when watching this, I felt undeniable nods to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and also A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) (for the fantasy), and even Catch Me If You Can (2002).
The flights of fancy are everywhere. This is genre-hopping Spielberg at his best, be it in espionage thriller, angelic fairytale, and drama of astronomical proportions. And if anyone has a keen eye for Alfred Hitchcock, they may notice nods to Rear Window and North by Northwest.
Spielberg isn’t the only chameleon worth championing, however. Without giving anything away, Emily Blunt, playing newscaster Margaret Fairchild, knocks it out of the park in darting between ideas, memories, and character traits. Plus, her journey is epic.
Still, one of the most gripping strands to the film is the corporate cover-up. The sheer amount of surveillance and snitching is impressive. Characters even seem to commit identity fraud on themselves in bizarre reversals of ethics, not to mention personality switches along the way.
Hack me if you can
One character who remains consistent despite a turbulent quest is cybersecurity analyst Daniel Kellner, played by Josh O’Connor. From the get-go, his face-off with Colin Firth’s Noah Scanlon remains one of the most memorable hooks in recent memory.
The opposition of digital foreknowledge vs physical vulnerability never gets tiring and lays down a steel framework for the movie to genre-hop on.
And as for the aliens? Well, they certainly feature, but are not necessarily a mainstay of Disclosure Day. And for me, any comparisons to The X-Files feel a bit cheap and convenient.
It’s uncanny how synced up the timing of the UFO disclosure movement is with Spielberg's release, and I think of it being told in a parallel universe.
Nobody enjoys being instructed to suspend their disbelief, but if stomaching sporadic surprises is not an issue, and you don’t “need all the answers,” then the payoff of Disclosure Day is likely to be galactic.
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