DETACHMENT by Daniel Hubschman

Home , Austin Stark, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Tony Kaye (director)

DETACHMENT By Daniel Hubschman

Hollywood has had lots to say about the American school system as of late, and whether you choose to believe the information presented to you via eye-opening documentaries like Waiting For Superman or fictional phenomenon’s like Fox’s Glee, it’s clear that our educational institutions are out-of whack at best, broken at worst. No one has been able to depict this disheartening downward spiral quite like director Tony Kaye with his new film Detachment. In it, the reclusive auteur focuses on just a few weeks in the life of Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who gets more than he bargained for when he takes a job at a fledgling high school, and in the process gives parents, professors and kids a much-needed wake-up call.

In this short period of time, Kaye dissects the contemporary classroom with unflinching realism. The grainy, worn film stock he uses for his verite’ photography, coupled with topical subject matter ranging from child prostitution and teen suicide to parental negligence, makes the movie appear to be more a documentary than a narrative feature, but that’s where Carl Lund’s poetic screenplay comes in. His prose is simultaneously beautiful and brutal, effortlessly supplying existential excerpts for star Adrien Brody, darkly comic bits for fellow teacher James Caan and up-to- the-minute slanguage for the teenage students. He also uses this star- studded stage (the ensemble includes Marcia Gay Harden, Tim Blake Nelson and Christina Hendricks among many others) to touch upon the larger sociopolitical issues effecting our schools and children, lashing out at numerous initiatives/establishments like “No Child Left Behind” that we’re led to believe have been implemented to increase residential property values instead of grades. Though the script begins to sound like a sermon at times, it’s not intrusive enough to become distasteful. Quite simply, it’s brazenly truthful.

However, excessive exposition can often hurt a film’s momentum and Kaye gets unnecessarily sidetracked with the painful back-stories of his characters. Brody’s Barthes is our central protagonist, so the sub-plot involving his aging, ailing grandfather is essential in defining him, but the filmmaker forces insight into the lives of almost every teacher (and a few of the students) down our throats. Individually, each vignette is heartrending but distracting; the majority of them have little connection to the main narrative. Collectively, they illustrate many of the problems that contemporary families face and, more importantly, create an emotional crescendo leading into the inevitably tragic conclusion.

The brilliance of this casual buildup to the film’s climax is a nod to Kaye’s storytelling aptitude. I found him utilizing the kind of in-your-face filmmaking tactics that Spike Lee made commonplace in his early movies, most noticeably with close-ups on a few actors who irritably address the camera head-on (like in Do The Right Thing). In addition, he intensifies the action with quick cuts and aggressive push-ins that elaborate on each character’s crisis. Perfection clearly isn't his strong point; Kaye frames his shots sloppily at times and doesn't attempt anything groundbreaking, but maximizes the potential of tried-and-true lo-fi techniques. His stylistic abilities are second only to Brody’s performance, which is subtle, sad and sweet all at once. We take an emotional and psychological plunge with the native New Yorker as he navigates a teenage wasteland of sex, drugs, violence and depression, but it’s all just another day at school to America’s urban youth.

Long absent since his freshman feature American History X, Detachment is a welcome return for Tony Kaye, whose commitment to the integrity of this story is marked by unrelenting bleakness in its tone and uncensored cynicism regarding the state of our schools. He doesn’t portray every educator as a saint or every student as a sinner; through Brody, he imparts on us the uneasy truth about the direct correlation between our failure as parents and the failure our children: we're one and the same. The true genius in his film is not represented in the text of his commentary, but in his ability to forge an explanatory mosaic from his characters’ varying but related points of view. Because of this, there are multiple mini-narratives that run through Detachment and all of them are worthy of your attention.

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Detachment: Tribeca Review

5:39 PM - 4/26/2011 by Frank Scheck

The Bottom Line

Harrowing depiction of the American educational system features a superb performance by Adrien Brody.

Director/director of photography: Tony Kaye

Screenwriter: Carl Lund

Cast: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks

Director Tony Kaye's depiction of a substitute teacher's hellish experience in a public high school makes his "American History X" seem lighthearted by comparison.

NEW YORK — Movies have been depicting the horrors of the American educational system for more than half a century, from The Blackboard Jungle to Dangerous Minds and others too numerous to mention. But none has reached quite the nightmarish depths of Detachment, the latest effort from cinematic provocateur Tony Kaye. This film depicting the hellish experiences of a high school substitute teacher makes such previous works by the filmmaker as American History X seem positively lighthearted by comparison. Commercial prospects look dicey, but there’s sure to be kudos for the film, which recently received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Adrien Brody, delivering his finest performance since The Pianist, plays the central role of the disaffected Henry Barthes.

Henry’s latest gig is at an inner-city public school that is clearly falling apart. Its principal (Marcia Gay Harden) is about to be forced out due to abysmal test scores, the teachers and other staff members all seem to be floundering, and the vast majority of students display zero interest in learning.

But the kids do respond positively to Henry’s stoic demeanor, his refusal to back down in the face of their taunts and his uncommon degree of empathy. Among those who blossom under his tutelage is Meredith (Betty Kaye, the director’s daughter), an emotionally fragile young woman who displays a genuine talent for photography.

While attempting to handle his demanding work duties, Henry must also contend with a grandfather (Louis Zorich) suffering from dementia and — representing the film’s most clichéd element — a teenage prostitute (Sami Gayle) who he takes under his wing.

As usual, the director injects intense visual stylization into the proceedings to frequently arresting effect. The film begins with stark, black- and-white filmed interviews with presumably real teachers describing their experiences and also includes brief animated snippets commenting on the action and a series of sepia-toned flashbacks depicting a traumatic event from Henry’s childhood.

Carl Lund’s screenplay is most effective in its depictions of the charged interactions between the students and teachers, which could have been written by Paddy Chayefsky in his prime. Among the powerful performers in the terrific ensemble are James Caan as a wisecracking older teacher who’s seen it all, Christina Hendricks as a colleague who takes a shine to Henry, Lucy Liu as a guidance counselor reduced to verbally abusing her charges, and Tim Blake Nelson as a teacher on the verge of cracking.

The younger performers make equally strong impressions, and Brody delivers an award-caliber turn that is all the more effective for the quiet restraint he exhibits for most of the film’s running time.

It could certainly be argued that Detachment is ultimately more sensationalistic than it is enlightening. But there’s no denying that it’s the work of a powerhouse filmmaker trying to shake audiences up. Here he succeeds handily.

Venue: Tribeca Film Festival Production Companies: Paper Street Films, Kingsgate Films, Appian Way Cast: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye Director/director of photography: Tony Kaye Screenwriter: Carl Lund Producers: Austin Stark, Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann, Carl Lund, Chris Papavasilio, Greg Shapiro Executive producers: Adrien Brody, Peter Sterling, Andre Laport Editors: Barry Alexander Brown, Geoffrey Richman Production designer: Jade Healy Costume designer: Wendy Schecter Music: The Newton Brothers No rating, 100 minutes

Detachment

27 April, 2011 | By Howard Feinstein

Dir: Tony Kaye. US. 2011. 100mins

Detachment is the colourful, fluid story about a substitute teacher, Henry (Adrien Brody), his colleagues, and the teen prostitute, Erica (Sami Gayle), he salvages from the gutter, in which, as odd as it may seem, monologues about progressive social issues serve the narrative well. Dotted with rapid flashbacks and impressive chalk animation, the film is as vivid as a Bollywood musical, but way livelier, visually more abstract, and kitschless, with the Newton Brothers’ glorious soundtrack rising and falling appropriately.

The film - which had its world premiere at Tribeca - will be critic-driven for certain, but once word spreads about its accessibility in spite of its unique artfulness and intelligent subject matter and dialogue, an educated and worldly public will wonder what the fuss is about and venture into upscale arthouses everywhere. That the students are cool and belligerent and the music geared toward the young crowd could attract a youthful audience as well.

The film begins with unsmiling, documentary-like talking heads following a simultaneously self-loathing and misanthropic quote from Camus at his most existential (“I have never felt so detached from myself and the world”). It ends with a line from Poe’s melancholic The Fall of the House of Usher (“There was a sinking, a sinking of the heart”), as striking shots of trashed contemporary public schools in the US point to the nadir of the American educational system.

In the low-income school where Henry is currently teaching, he is confronted by unruly students he tactfully tames in order to educate. The principal, Carol (Marcia Gay Harden), is considered dead weight by bureaucrats who consider the property only in terms of its financial impact on the neighbourhood (“We are consensus building”) and has just been let go.

The staff responds to ever-worsening circumstances in one of two ways. Some become hysterical, like Sarah (Christina Hendricks), a teacher who spreads vicious rumours, and Dr. Parker (Lucy Liu), the school psychologist who has a temper tantrum; others, like Charles (a funny James Caan in a best-ever performance), use humour as their defence shield.

Henry is the hub of the movie in every way. He milks his own relatively calm façade to defuse student anger. He is certainly qualified for Mensa and speaks an intellectual English, but he never condescends.

His problem is that he sees the world in black and white: His demons are buried deep inside, and they are exposed only in rapid-fire flashbacks (his alcoholic mother committed suicide, his half-demented grandfather had sexually abused him). When he sees Erica perform oral sex for money on a city bus, the groundwork is laid for his life to serve a purpose: her transformation. He is good at it.

Lost in the shuffle is the talented Betty Kaye – director Tony Kaye’s daughter - as Meredith, an overweight student in Henry’s class who wants his blessing as an artist and his body as a woman. In her case, he is detached to the extreme, and she makes an ugly exit that is not a snug fit for the general tone of the movie. But Betty Kaye has the talent to build a successful career. She just needs to find a project that employs no kin.

Production companies: Paper Street Films, Kingsgate Films

Producers: Austin Stark, Benji Kohn, Chris Papavasiliou, Bingo Gubelmann, Greg Shapiro, Carl Lund

Executive producers: Adrien Brody, Peter Sterling, Andre Laport

Screenplay: Carl Lund

Cinematography: Tony Kaye

Production designer: Jade Healy

Editor: Peter Goddard

Music: The Newton Brothers (Andy Grush, Taylor Stewart)

Main cast: Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye

DETACHMENT By Daniel Hubschman

Cheeri-ooh!

Fine films of Europe take Tribeca by storm

By Zach Baron, Bill Bradley and Paul Hiebert Friday, April 29, 2011

The 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival continues its tradition of bringing European movies across the pond and showcasing some of America’s brightest directors. Here, The Daily highlights our favorite feature films from this year’s festival.

‘THE TRIP’ “The Trip,” starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, is the most hilarious onscreen coupling since the original “Odd Couple” of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon took the screen in 1968. Adapted from the BBC series of the same name, “The Trip” pits Coogan and Brydon playing fictionalized versions of themselves — Coogan, mildly depressed with his career and domestic life; Brydon, happily married — as they drive across the northern English countryside reviewing restaurants for The Observer. The only plot device in the movie is driving to restaurants, which works out just fine as Coogan and Brydon fill in the holes with their banter and impressions. Coogan, who is best known for his role as Alan Partridge and notably depressed about it, is often irritated by Brydon’s insistent impressions, which eventually turn into duels. It’s these impressionistic battles — who does the best Michael Caine, Woody Allen, Liam Neeson, et al. — over meals and meandering along country roads that make for a ridiculously pleasant and plotless trip through northern England. — B.B.

‘THE GUARD’ Leave it to the Irish to update the tired buddy-cop genre. “The Guard,” starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle, was written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, an Englishman raised by Irish parents. (Those who saw his brother Martin’s 2008 black comedy “In Bruges” will be right at home here — the two films work in similar modes.) Gleeson plays Sgt. Gerry Boyle, an Irish guard stationed in the Connemara region — effectively the Irish boonies — where his biggest concern seems to be bestiality in local pastures. When a $500 million shipment of cocaine is reportedly destined for the docks off the coast, FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) rolls into town. Boyle and Everett’s interactions are cold (and awkwardly hilarious) at first, but as the drug-smuggling plot gets more complicated and the pints of Guinness are poured, their relationship blooms. McDonagh is working with the Irish sensibilities here and nothing is off limits (racism, certain four-letter words, IRA jokes), so you might want to leave the kids at home. — B.B.

‘THE BANG BANG CLUB’ Based on the real-life story of four combat photographers in apartheid South Africa in the early 1990s, “The Bang Bang Club” explores how far one will go to get the perfect photograph and the emotional wounds that come with it. The movie takes its name from a nickname bestowed upon the four photographers by a South African magazine article during their time covering the run-up to Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. The movie, which has the expected John Wayne war movie moments, is particularly poignant after the recent death of two veteran combat photographers covering the conflict in Libya. — B.B.

‘BLACKTHORN’ With his desert cactus of a white beard, wrinkles crowding his eyes, and broad-brimmed hat crammed down over his forehead, Sam Shepard could conceivably pass for pretty much any aging outlaw bandit in history. In Mateo Gil’s “Blackthorn,” he plays a rescued-from-the-dead and far-from- home Butch Cassidy, doomed to live on past the 1908 gun battle with the Bolivian Army that killed his partner, Sundance, and sentenced him to a life of exile under an assumed name — James Blackthorn — in the mountains of South America. Gil’s film opens roughly 20 years later, as Blackthorn prepares to journey home to visit a nephew (or is it a son?) he’s never met and a country he hasn’t seen since his youth. An encounter with a thief in the desert (Eduardo Noriega) leads Blackthorn after one last score, only to find that though the gestures of the heist are the same, the rationale that once underpinned them has changed disastrously. Shot on the Bolivian Plateau at high altitude and with a skeleton crew, Gil’s film is visually stunning at times — in particular, the final reckoning, during which the actors are mere specks of black against the blinding white of a salt flat — and morally sophisticated. The tragedy of the encroaching railroad and corporatization of the Western plains, Gil suggests, was the way it atomized the gangs that once roamed them, leaving behind men who suddenly found themselves embodying that most fragile of modern constructs — the individual. — Z.B.

‘DETACHMENT’ People can be difficult to love. They’re selfish, unkind and often undeserving of it.

In “Detachment,” Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) attempts to do so anyway, but in an emotionally removed sense where he doesn’t expect the feelings to be reciprocated or anything to change. Barthes works as a substitute teacher in a school system that director Tony Kaye (American History X) depicts as a failed institution with degenerate students and burned-out teachers. One scrawny-looking student bludgeons a cat to death with a hammer for no apparent reason other than to break up the meaningless monotony of the day.

The unconventional film, which employs quick scenes of flashbacks and animation, and also stars Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu and Marcia Gay Harden as three well-intentioned educators weary of the Sisyphean feat, delves into the darkest aspects of humanity without restraint. Although Barthes believes in the redemptive power of reading, writing and thinking for one’s self, he himself has been wounded, and knows that the scars of life can never be erased. — P.H.

Cheeri-ooh!

Fine films of Europe take Tribeca by storm

By Zach Baron, Bill Bradley and Paul Hiebert Friday, April 29, 2011

‘DETACHMENT’ People can be difficult to love. They’re selfish, unkind and often undeserving of it.

DETACHMENT TRIBECA 2011 PRESS REACTION MEMO

Howard Feinstein/SCREEN INTERNATIONAL He wrote in his review: ―Detachment is the colourful, fluid story about a substitute teacher… Dotted with rapid flashbacks and impressive chalk animation, the film is as vivid as a Bollywood musical, but way livelier, visually more abstract, and kitschless, with the Newton Brothers’ glorious soundtrack rising and falling appropriately….The film - which had its world premiere at Tribeca - will be critic-driven for certain, but once word spreads about its accessibility in spite of its unique artfulness and intelligent subject matter and dialogue, an educated and worldly public will wonder what the fuss is about and venture into upscale arthouses everywhere. That the students are cool and belligerent and the music geared toward the young crowd could attract a youthful audience as well…..‖

Frank Scheck/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER He wrote in his review: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/detachment-tribeca-review-182314 ―Movies have been depicting the horrors of the American educational system for more than half a century, from The Blackboard Jungle to Dangerous Minds to others too numerous to mention. But none have reached quite the nightmarish depths of Detachment, the latest effort from cinematic provocateur Tony Kaye. This film depicting the hellish experiences of a high school substitute teacher makes such previous works by the filmmaker as American History X seem positively lighthearted by comparison. While commercial prospects look dicey, there’s sure to be kudos for the film, which recently received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Adrien Brody, delivering his finest performance since The Pianist, plays the central role of the disaffected Henry Barthes…. As usual, the director injects intense visual stylization into the proceedings to frequently arresting effect...Carl Lund’s screenplay is most effective in its depictions of the charged interactions between the students and teachers, which could have been written by Paddy Chayefsky in his prime. Among the powerful performers in the terrific ensemble are James Caan as a wisecracking older teacher who’s seen it all; Christina Hendricks as a colleague who takes a shine to Henry; Lucy Liu as a guidance counselor reduced to verbally abusing her charges; and Tim Blake Nelson as another teacher who’s on the verge of cracking. The younger performers make equally strong impressions, while Brody delivers an award-caliber turn that is all the more effective for the quiet restraint he exhibits for most of the film’s running time. It could certainly be argued that Detachment is ultimately more sensationalistic than it is enlightening. But there’s no denying that it’s the work of a powerhouse filmmaker trying to shake audiences up. Here he succeeds handily.‖

Andrew O’Hehir/SALON.COM He wrote in his review: http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2011/04/26/tribeca_detachment ―The turning point in Tony Kaye's new movie, "Detachment" -- which, despite many nameable flaws, is a wrenching and powerful achievement -- comes when Lucy Liu, playing a high school guidance counselor, suffers a major breakdown in front of a student. …"Detachment" might be the biggest conversation piece I've seen so far at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. It's a scattershot, melodramatic would-be epic set in and around a New York high school, with a tremendous cast headed by Oscar-winner Adrien Brody as a substitute teacher struggling with his own barren emotional life. (It also stars Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men," James Caan, Marcia Gay Harden, Blythe Danner and Liu.) It's an everything-including- the-kitchen-sink kind of movie with a Fellini level of ambition. Kaye blends animated sequences along with dreams, memories and fantasies, mini-interviews with real-life teachers, dogmatic lectures about the failings of our society, and quotations from Albert Camus and Edgar Allan Poe. Carl Lund's screenplay hits a lot of flat notes and the acting is uneven, but ultimately I didn't much care -- I was swept along by the spectacular visual journey and the wrenching emotional experience. People will either love "Detachment" or hate it, and either way it provides powerful testimony to the unrivaled passion and undiminished craft of director Kaye, whose notoriety in the film industry is matched by his near-total invisibility to the general public. It's got a terrific central performance from Brody, maybe his best since "The Pianist," but many of the other elements -- the sympathetic fellow teacher he starts dating (Hendricks), the hardass but well-meaning principal (Harden), the teen hooker he adopts off the street (newcomer Sami Gayle) -- seem like stock archetypes, at least until you actually sit down and watch the film. Some distributor is going to have to take a chance on "Detachment" and endure a certain amount of critical derision. It's probably worth it, partly because Tony Kaye still has cinematic talent to burn, but even more because of what he can do with it, even in a highly imperfect movie that uses the pointless but noble struggle of high school to stand in for lots of other pointless and noble forms of struggle, like making movies and being alive.‖

Mina Hochberg/AMNY She wrote in her review: ―’Detachment’ offers many genuine moments, thanks to sincere performances from the ensemble cast. Bless James Caan for his comic relief.‖

Stu Van Airsdale/MOVIELINE He wrote in his review: http://www.movieline.com/2011/04/tony-kaye-worlds-greatest-showman-storms-tribeca-with-detachment.php ―After a while, in fact, Detachment feels as though Kaye is telling a ghost story — a novel, really, with characters and back stories fluttering through magic-hour prisms and saturated nocturnal light, their yelps and groans and pleas and dins and salutations and whispers hand-stiched into narrative breaths, their memories folded into daydreams and pummeled into nightmares, these fluorescent-lit cathedrals of learning dismantled before their inhabitants’ eyes, finally windblown into oblivion.‖ ..‖Indeed, it’s easy to be cynical about any film that appears to revel in undermining its own convictions. But for all of Tony Kaye’s creative quirks and difficulties, there’s always been an unmistakable redemption in his zeal — that of a filmmaker to engage with. He’s a rare species at this festival and, increasingly, anywhere else for that matter. I can take or leave his pre-screening serenades (or would at least trade them for a post-screening Q&A). And while his Detachment is only fitfully brilliant work, the mere knowledge that it’s meant — and for what, I can’t be sure — leaves me admiring it.‖

Daniel Hubschman/HOLLYWOOD.COM Daniel had a positive reaction. He wrote in his review: http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Detachment/7788041/reviews Hollywood has had lots to say about the American school system as of late, and whether you choose to believe the information presented to you via eye-opening documentaries like Waiting For Superman or fictional phenomenon’s like Fox’s Glee, it’s clear that our educational institutions are out-of whack at best, broken at worst. No one has been able to depict this disheartening downward spiral quite like director Tony Kaye with his new film Detachment. In it, the reclusive auteur focuses on just a few weeks in the life of Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who gets more than he bargained for when he takes a job at a fledgling high school, and in the process gives parents, professors and kids a much-needed wake-up call.

In this short period of time, Kaye dissects the contemporary classroom with unflinching realism. The grainy, worn film stock he uses for his verite’ photography, coupled with topical subject matter ranging from child prostitution and teen suicide to parental negligence, makes the movie appear to be more a documentary than a narrative feature, but that’s where Carl Lund’s poetic screenplay comes in. His prose is simultaneously beautiful and brutal, effortlessly supplying existential excerpts for star Adrien Brody, darkly comic bits for fellow teacher James Caan and up-to-the-minute slanguage for the teenage students. He also uses this star-studded stage (the ensemble includes Marcia Gay Harden, Tim Blake Nelson and Christina Hendricks among many others) to touch upon the larger sociopolitical issues effecting our schools and children, lashing out at numerous initiatives/establishments like ―No Child Left Behind‖ that we’re led to believe have been implemented to increase residential property values instead of grades. Though the script begins to sound like a sermon at times, it’s not intrusive enough to become distasteful. Quite simply, it’s brazenly truthful.

Paul Heibert/THE DAILY.COM http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/04/29/042911-arts-tribeca-features-1-3/ Paul liked the film and highlighted it as one his favorite films at the festival.

Sheila Kogan/SCRIPT MAGAZINE– Sheila thought the film was very powerful and distressing and definitely worth attention.

Jordan Raup/THE FILM STAGE – Jordan liked the film and wrote on twitter, ―Detachment: Adrien Brody gives a great performance in this deeply intimate look at education. Quite moving.‖

Leslie Stonebraker/NY PRESS – Leslie called the film ―thoughtful‖ and said ―Detachment is a critique not many will want to hear. . . It’s a window we all need to look through, if we’re actually going to make any progress to provide a real education.‖

Verane Pick/SCALLYWAG & VAGABOND.COM Verane had a positive reaction. She wrote in her review: http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/04/best-of-tribeca-the-heartbreaking-rise-of-the-house-of-kaye/3/ ―Profoundly cinematic, the film rides half-a-dozen different waves and never gets submerged. A truly phenomenal cast paints often extreme characters making a point to jar our expectations, but never veering far off the experiential ground we share. . . This is how Detachment rises so far above the grim realities it endeavors to portray. If it throws some solid punches to disturb our own detachment, it does so with such acute compassion and cinematic elegance that consistently, it leaves us a flush with wonder at the sheer beauty of this finely wrought machinery we call human beings.‖

Kee Chang/ANTHEM MAGAZINE – Kee loved the film and thought Sami was outstanding.

Carla Hay/EXAMINER.COM– She thought the movie had excellent acting. All the actors were great, but Sami Gayle was outstanding. She thinks she could be a huge star and thought her performance reminded her of how Natalie Portman made a stunning film debut in "The Professional."

Doris Toumarkine/FILM JOURNAL – She loved the film – the subject, acting, writing, directing, etc. She thought it was all amazing and had a big emotional punch.

Avi Offer/NYC MOVIE GURU – He passed along these quotes :‖A masterpiece. One of the best films of the year. A surefire Oscar contender. Powerful. Provocative. Captivating. A must-see. The most important film of the year. Adrian Brody gives an Oscar-worthy performance. I rarely use the word masterpiece, so that means a lot! ―

George Whipple/NY1 – George thought it was one of the best films at the festival.

Jim Fouratt/THE REEL DEAL– Jim loved the film. He thought the film was brilliant... passionate... depressive… reality check…thought the cast was perfect .. tone perfect, script taunt and sensitive.. art direction great. Said Tony Kaye shimmers with artistic anger and compassion and Adrian and James Caan and Marcia are pitch perfect.

Mekado Murphy/NY TIMES – Mekado liked the film and thought it was a real conversation piece, wasn't a big fan of the narration by Adrien, thought the film was "wacko" but in a good way

Gregg Goldstein/VARIETY- Gregg had a positive reaction. He had some issues with film but thought it was bold filmmaking and had a real voice to it

Yale Breslin/V MAGAZINE – Yale said he loved it and that the movie was the most intense/depressing two hours of his life....in the best way possible. He said he cried for a total of two hours straight. It was by far the best thing he felt he had seen thus far at Tribeca.

Stephen Saito/IFC.COM Stephen had a positive reaction He wrote in his review: http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/04/tribeca-2011-detachment-review.php ―Detachment is very much hit-and-run that way, though it's got a solid anchor in Brody, who can consider himself redeemed for that Stella Artois commercial if it meant taking on something dangerous like this….In many ways, it's that ADD generation that Kaye may connect with the most since it works far more at a subconscious level and practically, the director appears to be far less interested in answers than throwing grenades. …Hours after seeing "Detachment," I'm not entirely sure if I learned anything from it or even if I felt its moments of self-indulgence (of which there are many, from scorched classrooms to Barthes' constantly rhetorical questions such as "Haven't you ever had enough?" to Kaye featuring his daughter Betty in the role of a suicidal artist who sees salvation in Barthes) outweighed what felt right about it as satire or hell-raising or somewhere in between. But what I do know is it shook up an all-too-polite debate on education, not to mention a film festival known for programming safe choices, and the result is something that, unlike the characters in "Detachment" who struggle with retaining their humanity, you cannot disconnect from.‖

Pending Reactions: AnneMarie Baldonado/NPR Fresh Air Ronnie Scheib/Variety (critic)

DETACHMENT By the director of AMERICAN HISTORY X, Tony KAYE

The work of a powerhouse filmmaker... Adrien Brody, delivering his finest performance since The Pianist. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

A powerful achievement.. tremendous cast... I was swept along by the spectacular visual journey and the wrenching emotional experience. SALON.COM

As vivid as a Bollywood musical, but way livelier, visually more abstract, and kitschless, with the Newton Brothers’ glorious soundtrack rising and falling appropriately.... An educated and worldly public will venture into upscale arthouses everywhere... could attract a youthful audience as well. SCREEN INTERNATIONAL