Detachment
Another member of the Oscar Best Actor alumni, Adrien Brody (The Pianist), is the lead in Detachment. He plays Henry Barthes, an educator with a special ability to connect with his students. But by spending his days as a substitute teacher, he avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form a meaningful attachment. But perhaps all that’s about to change; that’s the beauty of the movies — you never know what’s around the corner.
So perhaps it’s for the best if you don’t read the following reviews too carefully if you want Detachment to be as diverting as possible. “In a wonderfully soupy timeline, Brody tries to provide some semblance of hope to kids who’d rather be angry and the world and each other than risk failure by genuinely caring,” writes the New York Press. “Harrowing depiction of the American educational system features a superb performance by Adrien Brody,” is the verdict of the Hollywood Reporter. But Variety is more skeptical, noting that “Brody is brilliant, but can’t save the Book of Job proceedings from tilting over into the ludicrous.”