On D List of Movie Reviews
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Disclosure (1994)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/04, 1/25
1/25:
People had incorrectly said that Disclosure was a unique major Hollywood movie for dealing with sexual
harassment by having the male call out a female for it (that would be
The Temp which was made a year earlier).
Anyway, yes...the situation sounds quite unlikely, yet it does happen. However, there are other issues that plague
the film, having troubled me since I first saw it in 1994. I just don't get this...was the sexual harassment Bob Garvin's
idea the whole time? If so, why didn't he simply let Tom Sanders go if he didn't like him? Either way,
why now, considering the upcoming merger? What's the purpose of sabotaging his own company in this manner?
Where did Meredith Johnson come from? Had she worked for the company prior to being named vice president?
If it was Bob Garvin's idea after all, why would Meredith be willing to risk everything she had worked for to do this?
How could Tom trust his boss and co-workers (Don Cherry, Mark Lewyn, and Mary Anne Hunter) again
after they told him how they felt about the situation? Why didn't Stephanie Kaplan appear in person to
help out instead of sending him anonymous emails consisting of totally cryptic messages?
As for the workplace sexual encounter, I'll have to say it was 70% Meredith's fault and 30% Tom's fault. Let's replay
the scene to take a look at a couple of key moments when the latter allowed it to happen in the first place even though
the former was the instigator the whole time. After Meredith asked Tom to give him a shoulder rub, he proceeded
to do it. I was like, "Um, why? That means he's actually interested in her." Then, there's his infamous
remark: "Want to get fucked? Is that what you want?" At any rate, Tom's wife should
have asked for divorce after hearing it all on tape.
Regardless, Disclosure is a high quality film with matching performances and a strong script.
Everything looks on the level, business-wise. A lot of reviewers have sneered at the VR technology and called
it "outdated." To be honest with you, I thought it was quite good for the time. But I don't get why the
need for it just to open files and folders. Anyone can do the same thing in Windows with a mouse.
All in all, despite the head-scratching plot holes, Disclosure is a well-made movie.