'Disclaimer' web series review: Cate Blanchett-starrer is an unsettling drama that holds you in thrall

Still from Disclaimer

Title: Disclaimer
Platform: Apple TV
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Liv Hill
Creator/Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Rating: 4/5
Runtime: 7 Eps

This new limited series, an erotic psychological thriller, ‘Disclaimer' from director Alfonso Cuarón follows Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett), a television documentary journalist whose work has been built on revealing the transgressions of long-respected institutions. Cuarón's narrative set in 7 chapters pulls you into a web of reminisces and elusive truths.

Adapted from Renée Knight's novel, the series takes an unstinting look into the lives of its characters and the secrets they appear to hide. Its not long before the celebrated Catherine has to face up to her dark past and see the edifice of what she painstakingly built brick by brick, come crumbling down following the release of a novel titled ‘The Perfect Stranger.' Catherine's life is thrown into turmoil after she receives the novel that she believes, anonymously reveals secrets from her past.

The book published by former teacher and widow Stephen Brigstocke (Kevin Kline), was written by his deceased wife Nancy (Lesley Manville) and is about a woman (Leila George) who has an illicit affair with a young man and then allows him to drown in order to preserve her secret. The disclaimer on the first page says it all: " Any resemblance to persons living or dead is not a coincidence."

As narrated by the gorgeous Indira Varma, the series juggles multiple narratives across time. The series opens with flashbacks from a young, libidinous carefree couples' vacation in Italy and cutting into that, in the present day, we see Catherine receiving an award for her unstinting journalism. It doesn't take long to understand the connections between the two events and the strands of memories that follow in their wake.

Catherine tries to uncover the writer's true identity while confronting her past before it destroys her life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) and their son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Never-ending grief, revenge,well-hidden secrets, false sense of security and well-being come into play as the slow-burn series structured to reflect those themes starts to unravel its main theme. Just when we begin to get a handle on what we see as the truth the narrative throws another curved ball with new information that challenges that belief. Our grasp of reality is fragile and the series examines this by pitting perception against truth. Of course truth has many versions and faces.

Cuarón's characters' meticulously constructed facades crumble as hidden versions emerge. Catherine and Stephen's shattered psyches reflect the consequences of perception over truth. Societal and cultural flaws are exposed through the construction of public outrage that labels people as villains from mere allegations.

There are plenty of twists and turns to intrigue and captivate the viewer. The camerawork is distinctive. The past, through flashbacks is depicted in carefree, playful, enchanting visual style while the present has a more darker, grittier palette. The performances of each and every member of the cast is creditable. But it's Cate Blanchett who steers this drama to a fulfilling high with a breathtaking performance that tamps down on melodrama while emboldening nuance and emotion. It's a performance that is likely to garner her an Emmy nomination if not the award itself. This series, brilliantly helmed by Cuarón, shows a mirror to human traits and flaws making the revelatory journey within, that much more interesting, thought-provoking and compelling.