‘Disclosure Day’: Steven Spielberg Returns To His Cosmic Obsession With Riveting Elegance 

Alci Rengifo

Some great artists have specific themes they never let go of. For Steven Spielberg, the idea of confirming extraterrestrial life symbolizes the potential for genuine awe. Like a religious experience, proof that we are not alone would overturn our perceptions of life, the cosmos and the meaninglessness of so many of our conflicts. Spielberg comes full circle with this theme in “Disclosure Day,” a metaphysical thriller that has the feel of an old master returning to a cherished pool of inspiration. The most famous living director in the world does not repeat himself, instead he finds new territory even as so many of his signature flourishes color the entire production. 

Tossing exposition to the wind, Spielberg and veteran screenwriter David Koepp start right in the middle of the action. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a tech brain, is on the run with girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson). Right behind them is a gang of shady operatives led by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) who works for an organization called Wardex. These are not quite the Men in Black but certainly some dangerous entity linked to the government. Daniel has in his possession electronic files Wardex must recover immediately. They contain proof that alien life is real, has visited Earth and the powers that be are covering it up. If Daniel and Jane can evade Noah, their plan is to link up with another Wardex defector, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo). Over in Kansas City, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) gets pulled into the chase when she starts speaking in other languages, shows sudden parapsychological abilities and starts uttering an alien language while on the air. At the same time, there is a greater urgency to creatively express Spielberg’s belief that we are not alone in the vast firmament. 

Spielberg’s obsession with UFOs first made a mark in 1977 with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” that sweeping adventure that combined soaring visuals with Watergate paranoia. Then there was another classic, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” with its heart-tugging message about friendship. For the War on Terror age, Spielberg reimagined H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” in 2005 as a visceral apocalypse where American cities get annihilated by cosmic invaders. These films are essential to note because “Disclosure Day” combines sensibilities from all of them. Hope combines with the fear that we are being ruled by cynical, dangerous forces. The first act has the mystery and breakneck suspense of an “X-Files” episode, with Daniel and Jane hiding from Noah’s goons as the latter uses alien technology to borrow into Jane’s mind, playing with her Catholic beliefs to try and manipulate her like a puppet. 

The structure of “Disclosure Day” is precisely like a chase, one where the story’s richer layers are revealed with every pit stop or sudden twist. Jane is eventually taken captive by Noah while she also grapples with one of the great questions posed to any faith by the idea of alien life. If there is life beyond Earth, how would that impact the theology of a faith like Christianity, so dependent on the idea of humankind as God’s unique creation? She even phones her former Mother Superior (Elizabeth Marvel), for a rather thoughtful conversation. Spielberg’s popcorn cinema has rarely been shallow, containing personal themes amid all the impressive effects. With Koepp he is mining much of the imagery we associate with the subject of UFOs for the broader implications. One of Daniel’s files contains footage of Richard Nixon visiting a storage facility where alien bodies are kept, but another reveals Noah participating in torturous experiments on a live extraterrestrial. Remember all those purported videos of alien autopsies and interviews in the pre-social media 1990s? Spielberg is imagining what the real deal would actually be like. It is done so skillfully we can forgive the old pro for sidestepping questions posed by the latest technology (if alien abductions are real, why hasn’t anyone captured it on their iPhone?).

All of the performances have focus and urgency, the standout being Emily Blunt as the meteorologist overtaken by a mysterious force. She’s subtle and tense, like someone having their consciousness being opened for the first time to a larger idea. When she meets up with Daniel, there are reminders of the intimate bond formed by Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Trust is built through a unique experience no one but themselves can comprehend. Colin Firth is unsavory not as a force of pure evil, more like an idealogue convinced his dirty work is essential. Colman Domingo is then the counter, acting almost as a conscience to confront Firth with reason, assuring him empathy must be an essential part of genuine human evolution. Again, so different from the average sci-fi thriller mistakenly believing that the point of the story should be the flying saucers. Koepp’s script has much in common with the work of Chris Carter in “The X-Files,” combining thrills with metaphysical moods. Questions of existence somehow combine with fun recreations of UFO lore like the 1947 Roswell crash and nods at all those endless UFO sighting videos we’ve seen over the decades. Leave it to this director to stage an alien abduction memory that is more about the terrors of childhood. 

On another level, “Disclosure Day” can be enjoyed in terms of watching a master craftsman do what he does best in terms of pure filmmaking. Key Spielberg collaborators return like cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, who has been responsible for the director’s most memorable images since “Schindler’s List,” including the signature lens flares filmmakers like J.J. Abrams try so hard to emulate. John Williams is back as well, at age ninety-four providing another evocative score. Together they build towards a classic Spielberg crescendo that imagines what might happen if the world were to learn we are not alone. It remains to be seen how audiences will respond to the director’s sense of hope as the real world becomes ever so uncertain. As an artist, Spielberg has looked at the darker side of our species before, yet “Disclosure Day” ends as an inspirational speculation, refusing to give in to despair. For Spielberg, a sense of wonder is about more than mere entertainment but a lifeline that could pull us back from catastrophe.

“Disclosure Day” releases June 12 in theaters nationwide.