Apple TV+ Review: ‘Disclaimer’ Builds Up Its Intrigue But Doesn’t Back It Up Quite as Well

Discovering that someone knows intimate details of your life and plans to make them public is inarguably unnerving. It’s considerably worse when it happens to someone who has built a career on the noble pursuit of truth, exposing the misdeeds of others with an ironclad integrity. It’s hard to know how to combat truths that should better remain secret when their accuracy can’t be denied and any attempt to deflect might only add to the severity. Disclaimer examines the unraveling of someone who believed herself to be immune from accusations of wrongdoing, constructing its story from multiple different angles.

Disclaimer boasts a few high-profile names that have helped it to launch in a major way, debuting first at the Venice Film Festival and then screening at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its October streaming premiere on Apple TV+. Alfonso Cuarón, the two-time Oscar-winning director behind Gravity and Roma, brings a gravitas to this project as its writer and director. Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who headlined the limited series Mrs. America but is otherwise rarely seen on television, has the lead role, and the cast includes Oscar winner Kevin Kline and nominees Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Lesley Manville.

The involvement of that talent feels like reason enough to seek out this show, whether at a festival or at home on a small screen. What actually transpires, however, is certainly filled with intrigue but doesn’t always prove to be entirely fulfilling. Told over seven episodes, this series is dominated by a foreboding tone, with ominous narration by Indira Varma. When Catherine (Blanchett) finds out that she is a character in a novel by an unknown author, she slowly begins to realize how this will impact her life as it begins to reach the people closest to her. Audiences are left to put the pieces together as various characters are introduced and flashbacks to earlier times fill in the gaps of a secretive past.

This show is premiering its first two episodes together and screened the first four of seven hours in Venice. While sampling several installments is typical for streamers in today’s market, it also speaks in this case for the need to dig more fully into the story, which doesn’t really kick into high gear in episode one. There’s a good deal of mystery to be found and traces of compelling answers, but this feels like a limited series that almost needs to be watched in full in order to become fully interesting rather than one that grabs audience’s attention and demands a quality-inspired binge.

Though her role isn’t necessarily as prominent as viewers might expect given her star power, Blanchett is still effortlessly good, bringing a certain mystique to the character. Catherine is a well-respected public figure who hasn’t let the accolades she’s received go to her head, and Blanchett believably portrays her as someone who is genuinely disturbed by the prospect of her properly-lived life falling apart. Cohen is hardly an obvious choice for his part, though his past dramatic work in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and The Spy recommends him well for a character without a trace of the comedic sensibilities that first made the actor famous. Kline, sporting an unusual accent, and Manville complement their costars well.

Ultimately, it’s two lesser-known performers much closer to the beginnings of their careers, Leila George and Louis Partridge, who deliver the most memorable turns and are featured in the most compelling – and visually striking – of the series’ many narratives. The more that is revealed, the more interesting the show becomes, but it’s possible that audiences won’t be sufficiently entranced by what comes first to stick around for what is eventually unveiled. In an age of omnipresent ensemble drama laced with betrayal and surprises, Disclaimer doesn’t boldly distinguish itself from the rest of the pack.

Series Rating: 6/10

Awards Buzz: While Mrs. America didn’t turn out to be an awards slam dunk, Blanchett was still celebrated, and it’s likely she will be for this show too. Cuaron also has a solid history with awards, so as long as Apple TV+ prioritizes this show, expect it to be properly honored.