Venice Film Festival 2024: Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Disclaimer’ receives rapturous reception
As one of modern cinema’s finest auteurs, any new project hailing from the mind of Alfonso Cuarón is worth getting excited about. The filmmaker’s latest detour into television with the upcoming series Disclaimer winning rapturous applause at the Venice Film Festival.
With five Academy Awards to his name split across four different categories from 12 nominations in total, it goes without saying that Cuarón is one of the very best in the business. The exact same sentiment applies to Disclaimer star Cate Blanchett, too, who’s got two Oscars of her own from eight nods.
Put the two of them together in a limited series that was written and directed in its entirety by Cuarón with Blanchett given a meaty role to sink her teeth into, and expectations were understandably high for AppleTV+’s literary adaptation, which premieres on streaming on October 11th.
Based on Renée Knight’s novel of the same name, Disclaimer stars Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a veteran and highly respected journalist who discovers a mysterious novel on her bedside table. Written by EJ Preston, The Perfect Stranger carries eerie similarities to her own life and past.
After discovering she’s the main character in a book that looks set to reveal her darkest secret to the world, Ravenscroft sets out to uncover the mysterious author’s identity in a quest that threatens to do serious damage to her personal and professional lives.
The star-studded supporting cast features Oscar winner Kevin Cline, Oscar nominees Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Lesley Manville, and Squid Game breakout star HoYeon Jung among others. With that calibre of talent on board, a five-minute standing ovation at Venice – where the whole series is being screened out of competition – is merely the first step towards Disclaimer becoming a frontrunner for virtually every small screen award going.
It’s a long overdue return for Cuarón, who hasn’t directed anything since Netflix’s semi-autobiographical 2018 drama Roma, which won him his second Oscar for ‘Best Director’. It’s also the first time he’s tackled television in a decade, with Disclaimer his most hands-on small screen project yet.
Cuarón co-created, executive produced, and co-wrote and directed the pilot episode of the fantasy drama Believe back in 2014, which was cancelled after a single 13-episode season. Obviously, Disclaimer won’t be suffering the same fate as a limited event, but the seven-episode thriller is nonetheless one of the most hotly anticipated streaming releases of the year.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.