People are voting emotionally.

Excellent but underrated film

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a sad and depressing movie about the human condition. It is only about the misery of being a teenager and yhe trials of being a teacher in a school where no one wants to be. Sorry to say there is no ballance to this movie. The cinematography is not done well, many of the sceens are shakey. It is more live a documentary then a movie. After 45 minutes I had to turn it off as it lacked the content to be called a drama or even a movie. The characters do not engage me and make me want to continue watching.

This film should be mandatory viewing for any child, parent and educator. The chest crushing weight of expectation, oppression and the 24/7 bombardment of how we should look, behave and conform is outlined brilliantly in this movie. Clearly showing on all sides that which is not understood from differing factions. Adrian Brody is yet again, excellent and really is an underrated actor. This is the 2nd film of his I have seen this month and in both (Manhattan Night) he captures the mood better than any other actor I can think of. These are my kind of films, dark, compelling and the characters absorbing and interesting. The highest praise I can give this is that it would sit well with any European cinematic effort.

Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a substitute teacher with issues. His grandpa is in assisted living with dementia. Principal Carol Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden) is being pushed out. Artistic student Meredith is fascinated with Barthes. Ms. Madison (Christina Hendricks) is an idealistic teacher under stress. Dr. Doris Parker (Lucy Liu) is the struggling school counselor. Mr. Charles Seaboldt (James Caan) talks to kids bluntly. Barthes encounters hooker Erica (Sami Gayle) and tries to help her.I really like the stuff at school. I like the disjointed take from different characters. It's tough. It's edgy. It's disturbing. It's uncomfortable. On the other hand, Erica is too much of a trope. She's the hooker with a heart. Barthes becomes a white knight in shinning armor. It turns it into something slightly cheesy. That's the only squeaky wheel in an otherwise rolling movie.

To sum up what Depressi- I mean Detachment is like, just realize this is a grand social critique by the man who directed American History X. This leads me to only one way to describe Detachment: its heart is in the right place and it has some compelling drama going for it, but it's too over the top to present its social critique in a completely convincing manner. In a way, the same problems that plagued American History X now plague this film.Our main character is a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes, played by Adrien Brody whose face has a melancholy quality that makes him a natural fit for this film. In addition to merely teaching what the school wants him to teach, he actively tries to engage the students on an emotional and ethical level, to teach them things about life and so on. He goes on about the corrupting influence of the media and how the students must learn to think for themselves, etc. You'd think that would be enough to fill one film, but we also get a prostitute Henry pick up off the streets and tries to take care. There's also Henry's dying grandfather who lives in a nursing home and various employees at the school with problems of their own. The film thus tries to paint an enormous critique of the high school system through various characters.What the film has going for it, are the same things American History X had going for it: great acting and drama. Adrien Brody and the rest of the cast are all quite great, particularly Brody. The film is at its preachy best during the classroom scenes where Henry outlines several societal critiques in his bid to truly educate his students in his short time there. Several other scenes, including one where Henry verbally lashes one of the nursing home's employees for not taking care of his grandfather's needs, also have a great sense of drama and whether or not you'll like/love/hate the film, there is no doubt that watching Detachment is an impactful, intense experience.The thing that really hurts this film, however, is the same thing that hurt American History X: over the top melodrama (complete with slow-motion). As the film goes on, the film becomes increasingly melodramatic to the point that it becomes detrimental to the messages the film intends to spread. When an important, tragic character dies at the end, it feels too much as if the film – like American History X – suffers from It's Not A Good Story, Unless Someone Dies syndrome and that's not what you want. You want the death to feel deserved, which I feel this film did not. Also detrimental are the amount of well-known actors in this film. This is one of those cases where the amount of stars don't mix with the type of film. An art-house film featuring a star-studded cast hurts its aims for 'realism'.In the end it's easy to see this film has its heart in the right place. One can sense the anger behind all the social critique delivered in its scenes. Yet it is director Tony Kaye's overwrought sense of drama that makes the film devolve into an ever increasing spiral of sadness and darkness which makes it hard to deliver the Big Message without alienating the audience. Too much melodrama can turn off an audience and that's what happened for me. The film started off incredibly well, featuring lots of well-delivered social critique, but by the end – especially when (spoiler) the overweight girl died – the film became too dark and cliché-ridden. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no subplots that ended well. Now, this is of course in line with the aims of the film, but how can I stay open to its messages when all it gives me is a nonstop portrayal of a society trapped in a downward spiral, regardless of the truths the film contains?