Detachment

Filmmaker Tony Kaye's Detachment is a surrealistic and scathing indictment of the American public school system, focusing on the grim, nightmarish experiences of a high school substitute teacher. World-weary Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) leads a lonely life. Shuttling from school to school, this month he's teaching English in New York's inner-city, where the vast majority of students show little or no interest in learning, while their parents are either aggressive or apathetic. In order to maintain sanity, Henry sheathes himself in the armor of austere detachment, refusing to allow the toxicity of students' profane taunts or dire administrative traumas to alter his stoic demeanor. But he's still a charismatic instructor, briefly reaching out to Meredith (Betty Kaye, the director's daughter), a bullied, overweight student with artistic talent. Unable to raise her school's test scores, the frustrated principal (Marcia Gay Harden) faces dismissal, while the guidance counselor (Lucy Liu) struggles against utter despair (other faculty are played by a strong supporting cast, including Christina Hendricks, James Caan, Blythe Danner, and Tim Blake Nelson). In the evening, Barthes dutifully visits his Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather (Louis Zorich) in a nursing home, and on the bus back to his apartment Barthes encounters a scrappy, street-savvy, 15-year-old prostitute (Sami Gayle), offering her temporary solace and shelter, and thereby taking the first step on the road to caring about someone else. Unfortunately, Detachment ultimately comes off as preachy, angst-driven melodrama. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with director Tony Kaye and star Adrien Brody (5 min.), and red carpet interviews at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere (4 min.). Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)