Disclaimer With Cate Blanchett Is Finally Here: What Is It About & Is It Worth Watching?

Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón has a long history of success in Hollywood, and is at home in studio projects like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men, as well as arthouse films like Y tu mamá también and Roma.

This is the first time the five-time Oscar winner has tried his hand at a serialized format. For his debut, Cuarón chose Renée Knight's 2015 book Disclaimer.

Disclaimer is Knight's debut, which can hardly be called an international bestseller. It is not clear why Cuarón, who has not made a film in six years, took on a rather mediocre novel.

Cuarón wrote the screenplay and directed all seven episodes, and also invited two outstanding cinematographers, Bruno Delbonnel and Emmanuel Lubezki. It's a shame to see the efforts of such talented people go to waste.

What Is Disclaimer About?

A documentary filmmaker, Catherine does a lot of television work and regularly wins prestigious awards. She has been married to businessman Robert for many years. Their son Nicholas recently moved out of the family home and works as a salesman in an electronics store.

The family's world collapses when Catherine receives a book by an unknown author called The Perfect Stranger. The filmmaker recognizes herself in the main character. Her husband, Robert, also receives a copy. From the book, the husband learns of Catherine's cheating, which leads to tragedy.

Disclaimer Could Have Been a Good Two-Hour Movie

The narrative of the series is divided into two time periods. In the present, retired Stephen publishes a book written by his wife Nancy that exposes Catherine's sins. The wife has died of cancer, and the husband has decided to destroy Catherine's family.

In the past, Catherine, Robert and little Nicholas are vacationing in Venice. The husband had to return to London for work, and the wife and baby continued to bask on the sunny beaches. Catherine meets nineteen-year-old Jonathan and spends several nights with him.

Jonathan drowns in the sea, and his parents blame the seductress for their son's death. The whole truth about the old events is revealed in the pages of the book The Perfect Stranger.

Like many other modern crime shows, Disclaimer is too far-fetched – one of the main problems with streaming and cable television today. The series could easily have been a decent two-hour movie, but Cuarón slowly tells a rather banal story.

Disclaimer Is Built on the Concept of Unreliable Narrators

The events on screen are accompanied by the voices of several people. Cuarón plays with unreliable narrators, clearly suggesting that each character has their own truth.

For the most part, we are presented with the narrative of a book invented by a grief-stricken mother. Can Nancy be trusted? How does the mother know all the details of Catherine and Jonathan's affair?

The only thing that is not in doubt is the authenticity of the photos taken by her son. The photos show Catherine sometimes in a bra, sometimes naked – there was an affair, but is the married woman to blame for the death of her young lover? That's the whole intrigue of the series.

Disclaimer is the younger brother of Big Little Lies and The Undoing. With each new iteration, the plots about the secrets of the rich become more and more predictable.

Apparently, the producers decided that a great writer would be able to turn a mediocre literary source into a talented series. The miracle did not happen: the excessive melodrama and repetitive pretentious cuts become boring already in the first episode.

Where to Watch Disclaimer?

Disclaimer is available to stream on Apple TV+.