Film review: Disconnect is a Crash and extinguish

I first watched the trailer for Disconnect with an audience of about 100 other people, during a digital media class.

“I just want to know what’s going on,” said some anonymous girl from the other side of the room. People burst in chuckles. But it was pretty obvious what was happening: several stories, thinly woven together à la Crash, about how technology is digging deep into our lives… and changing us to the very core. I had decided right there and then that Disconnect either had to be on either extremes: it had to be absolutely captivating, or wholly unlikable, so much so that it would at least be entertaining. Unfortunately, it was just middling.

Here’s the gist: three different groups of people essentially wreak havoc unto others and themselves, via social media. A wife and husband duo get their identities stolen and their bank accounts wiped out. A high school boy gets — for lack of a better term — Catfish’d. And in the more interesting of the three stories, a journalist seeks out to interview a perhaps-minor boy who works as a webcam, ahem, “model” of sorts. The good news, with the exception of one character, tech devices are never treated as after school special antagonists. But story-wise, that seems to be about the only good news.

Don’t misunderstand: the film is packed with fantastic performances from all involved. It is filmed beautifully. In most instances, it’s captivating. Disconnect can treat silence meticulously. It definitely warranted my attention and care for several characters. And it doesn’t shy away of exploring the warped connections between young people via iPad screens and incorrect profile photos.

The problem? It’s afraid. Where it should bang, it fizzles out. Where it should zig, it stays put. Where there should be a monsoon, there is but a pitter-patter. The climax of every story is more like a plateau. A last-minute phone call proves the film was too timid to even put its characters in any real danger. While nothing is resolved (there’s a certain gravity with one of the non-conclusions), we’re left with the cautionary tale we’ve all already heard — or lived.

In the end, Disconnect is like heat lightning: mesmerizing flash but thunder that sounds like a murmur.

Grade: C