Dont waste your time watching Disclaimer

 

The golden age of television is well and truly over if shows like Disclaimer are what passes for entertainment. Sasha Baron Cohen is one of my favourite actors. I enjoyed Spy, Borat, Bruno, the Dictator and Ali G. So when I saw him on a talk show promoting Disclaimer I was excited and could not wait to watch the show. Then I saw the legendary Cate Blanchett on the same show and I could not contain my excitement. Then I watched the show Disclaimer and when I finished it I felt dead on the inside. I felt dirty and used. I felt like I had paid for a hooker and did not even bust a nut. Disclaimer was a waste of money and talent.

It begins with two people having sex on a train. That instantly got me hooked onto the show. But then the rest of the first episode just meanders aimlessly along as the episode changes timelines and this was very confusing. The first episode is torture however, the second episode ends dramatically as it is revealed that Catherine Ravenscroft the character played by Blanchett cheated on her husband 20 years ago in Italy. Someone sent the pictures to the husband Robert played by Cohen. Long story short Robert kicks Catherine out of the house. Then Stephen Brigstocke (played by Kevin Kline) the father of the man who Catherine cheated with  is out for revenge because he blames Catherine for letting her son drown. In the end Catherine explains that the son raped her and that is why she let him drown. The father of the dead son forgives Catherine and does not go through with his revenge. Robert also forgives his wife even though they choose to get divorced. The end. 

A few things dont make any sense about this show. Why didn't Catherine just explain to her husband and father that the son raped her at the very beginning? Why didn't she go to the police after the rape? Why did she lounge at the beach after the rape? Why is the son such an unlikeable asshole? Why was Catherine stupid enough to drink tea from a man who hates her? Why did Catherine's coworkers turn on her so fast because of the word of some old guy? Why were the nurses at the hospital so stupid to let random people go in to visit the patients? Why was the father of the dead son angry when Catherine wasn't directly responsible for her son's death? I could go on and on trying to make sense of a nonsensical plot. What is worse is that Disclaimer got nominated for many awards. Why? I do not know. Perhaps I am the mad man in a world full of sane people. If I was the writer I would have another plot twist that Catherine had lied to Stephen and his son did not rape her. She did have an affair. And the story ends with her getting away with it and she moves back in with her husband.

Disclaimer is a poor man's Pulp Fiction. It plays around with the timeline but it is confusing at first. For a while it seems interesting but then Catherine's story about the rape just makes the whole story ridiculous. It is as if they just had to have a plot twist just for the sake of having a plot twist. As a writer you always want to have interesting plot twists but sometimes maybe it is better to have no plot twist than to have a nonsensical plot twist. Another series that started off great but have a terrible plot twist is Behind her Eyes.

I wont waste any more time with this review and I suggest you do not waste your time watching Disclaimer.