Film Review - Disconnect (2013)

On DVD and Blu Ray - "Disconnect" (2013) - 2004's Oscar-Winner for Best Picture, "Crash", was an ensemble piece featuring interweaving stories mostly concerning race-relations in Los Angeles- although Disconnect shares none of that film's producers or cast, it feels like an unofficial follow-up, of sorts, with a handful of cautionary internet and social-networking tales (along with the principal players involved with each story) interconnecting at film's end.  Though Disconnect is nowhere near as profound or as star-studded as Crash, it's still a solid and poignant drama that's well-executed and interesting.

The three stories within are of the "taken from the headlines" variety, including;

1. A talented, misunderstood teenaged boy (Jonah Bobo), unbeknownst to his distracted parents (Jason Bateman and Hope Davis), falls prey to a couple of classmates playing a cruel prank via a social networking site.  It was highly welcomed to see the usually more comically inclined Jason Bateman (The Kingdom) play it straight here- there's much more to the actor than most give him credit for.

2. An ambitious journalist (Andrea Riseborough) gets caught up in the world of sex video chat rooms with a charismatic young male stripper (Max Thieriot).  I just couldn't get over how incredibly sexy Riseborough (Oblivion) was, who is naturally pretty to begin with, with a little added eye-makeup- good God!

3. A married couple (Alexander Skarsgard and Paula Patton) grieving the recent loss of a child find that they've fallen victim to a substantial case of identity theft and enlist the aide of a private detective (Frank Grillo) who specializes in the field of cyber crimes.  Is it just me or does anyone else see Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as "The Punisher"?

Skarsgard (the future star of Tarzan) and Patton's husband and wife duo actively seeking out the culprit behind their savings draining case of internet fraud was the only vein of the narrative that I found implausible (though not impossible).  Of the ensemble, only Patton fails to deliver; I've always found her to be highly attractive, though her strained expressions of grief come across as someone uncomfortable with how their face appears when rehearsing them in a mirror- she's so self-aware and afraid of looking unattractive that it renders her performance counterfeit. See her attempts at emoting in 2013's actioner, 2 Guns, for further evidence of this...

I'm guessing that many of those who frequently use the net for commercial purposes have had some kind of brush with it's more negative aspects- the dangers of floating too much information out there for all the world to see and potentially take advantage of is a constant facet to take into account every time we log in.

Disconnect's running theme concerns how people have inadvertently used technology to separate themselves from their closest loved ones.  It's filmed, directed and edited well and doesn't look particularly cheap- those looking for a worthwhile Drama should definitely check it out

8.0 out of 10

Director: Henry Alex Rubin
Cast: Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgard, Max Thieriot, Colin Ford, Jonah Bobo and Hayley Ramm
Run-Time: 115 minutes
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, some graphic nudity, language, violence and drug use - some involving teens