🍎Film Review: Disclosure

*Notice: This movie review contains spoilers. I encourage you to watch the film first and form your own opinion. Then come back and read this review. The film is available for rental on Amazon, click here. Disclosure starring Michael Douglas & Demi Moore (1994, running time 2 hours, 8 minutes, Rated R). Movie trailer posted below. Happy movie watching!

***Spoiler Alert***

Disclosure

Tom Sanders is a husband, father, and senior executive of manufacturing at a computer technology company in Seattle, Washington. His wife Susan, is a lawyer and they have a  comfortable life in the suburbs. It’s the 1990s, the time of Yuppie (“young upwardly mobile professional”) culture. Tom is excited, as a job promotion appears to be near. He starts his Monday workday as usual, unaware of the looming treachery in his mist.

The movie Disclosure (1994, running time 2 hours, 8 minutes, Rated R) starring Michael Douglas (Tom Sanders) and Demi Moore (Meredith Johnson) involves allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. A unique aspect of the complaint is that a man accuses a woman of being the aggressor. I first watched this film when it was released in the 1990s. Recently, I decided to re-watch it, because of the timeless themes and memorable ending. The movie is thirty years old, but still holds relevance in these contemporary times.

Tom’s employer Digicom is in negotiations with another company for a merger. Tom’s boss, Bob Garvin, is eager to complete the deal on Friday, as it will allow Digicom to profit one hundred million dollars. A not so small caveat is that the other company has conservative values and Digicom is not what it seems on the surface. To remedy this issue, Garvin appoints a new Vice President from outside the company to be the face of the merger. Meredith Johnson becomes the choice for Vice President. She has a reputation in the technology industry as being just as ruthless as the men. Years ago, Tom and Meredith were involved in a romantic relationship before he was married. So, this former flame is now his boss.  

The movie takes place over one week with the days leading to Friday’s plan for the company merger. During the week a situation occurs between Tom and Meredith in which he accuses her of workplace sexual harassment. Soon, they are sitting among attorneys and a woman judge for legal mediation. They are required to disclose the events that lead them to this point.

One aspect of the film that was very enjoyable were the intelligent and insightful women that surrounded Tom. Although, Tom did not initiate off color remarks about women in the workplace, he did not stop it either. It appears Tom is oblivious to his own gender bias until he becomes a target of workplace sexual harassment. Thus, begins Tom’s evolution on understanding sexism and the role of women in the workplace and home. From interactions with his assistant Cindy to conversations with his colleague Stephanie, he begins to awaken from his indifferent slumber. His wife demonstrates heroism when blatantly confronted with feelings of betrayal. He has a conversation with co-worker Mary Anne Hunter, in which she expresses not being seen for her accomplishments, when compared to men. The fiery exchanges with his female attorney were brilliant. Even his young daughter states: “Daddy, I never believed what they said about you.” The complaint of sexual harassment made him confront his own gender bias and the women around him gave the wisdom to understand it.    

  

The power dynamics in this movie were presented very well. The method to use a woman, Meredith Johnson, to supposedly break the glass ceiling was concealed with ulterior motives. And she was a willing participant. Interestingly enough, one employee joked her arrival was that of an Amazon. A group of legendary women warriors of ancient times, who it is speculated performed mastectomy, so their bow and arrow weapon would fit better on the chest. The movie also touches on issues related to international labor relations, witness intimidation, bribery, and corporate political back-stabbing. It gives a retro view of early cell phones and emails, which were not yet as commonplace compared to current times.

When a person decides to engage in illegal behavior they can be of any race, ethnicity, or gender. And their individual motivations can vary in scope. Even the ground-breaking legal precedent: Wilson v. McClure (2000) established same-race discrimination. The old saying: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” rings very true in this story. A very good movie to watch!