Disconnect - Henry Alex Rubin

Disconnect
Henry Alex Rubin
LD Entertainment

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to head up to Toronto last week and take part in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The prestigious festival, which is now in its 37th year, spans venues all across the downtown Toronto core and plays host to hundreds of movies and artists each year. The festival was an absolutely amazing experience and one that I would highly recommend to any fellow movie lover out there in the future.

During my time at the festival, I was fortunate enough to take in five films, all of which had their own redeeming qualities. But on my greyhound ride back home, as I reflected on the weekend, I could not help but repeatedly come back to one specific movie that seemed to be stuck with me.

Unlike most movies, after taking in a morning viewing of Disconnect, I was left with an overwhelming feeling I just could not shake. I left feeling as if I had been punched in the gut, and I loved it.

For those unfamiliar with the movie, it features familiar faces in Jason Bateman, Alexander Skarsgård, and Paula Patton. Beginning with four and concluding with one intertwined story, Disconnect takes a similar approach to the 2005 Oscar Best Picture Crash.

Focusing on a group of strangers caught up in the monotonously wired world of today, the movie does for the Internet what Crash did for racial tension.

Sure technology is great — just think of how many amazing things we can do with the touch of a few finger tips — but what is the cost of its pervasiveness in our lives?

Disconnect asks this question, and presents a wonderfully crafted answer, which highlights the darker side-effects of living in a world where everyone is plugged in. 

Screen time is shared evenly between nearly 10 actors, but I was well invested in each character’s story. It is a testament to an excellent script and director,  who made sure everything was timed to play out at a quick yet smooth pace.

The interweaving of the story’s threads is done with great success, culminating in the movie’s climax, which left me both mesmerized and holding my breath in suspense.

The movie reaches a resolution, but doesn’t tie a pretty bow. Too many times I find that storytellers try to tidy up every loose end. In some cases it works for the story. However, and especially with the case of Disconnect, I enjoy not knowing how everything plays out after the credits roll.

Coming out of the theatre I was given a lot more to think about and, in turn, a greater appreciation for the two hours I had spent watching the film.

The performances were superb.  Most notable were those of Bateman as the father of a cyber-bullying victim, and youngster Colin Ford, who played the responsible cyber-bully. The on-screen relationship between these two characters, albeit brief, is great and an interaction which really pulls on one’s heart strings.

Although it hasn’t been given an official country-wide release date, Disconnect is a movie I could see popping up at the Princess Twin or Princess Cinemas in the near future.

With the great ensemble, excellent story, and introspective message,Disconnect is a movie I would highly recommend checking out when it hits theatres or store shelves.