Movie Review: Disconnect

credit: Disconnect

It’s easy to see how society has become disconnected from each other in a lot of ways since between the time we spend apart thanks to work or simply because we’re on our devices so often and don’t speak to each other face to face, or spend time with each other, one could surmise that the human race might be forgetting how to deal with each other. When it comes down to how we treat each other, however, that disconnect can become a dehumanizing element that makes our actions and words that much easier to use against others without fear of any consequences. That’s one reason this movie hits home in many ways: it deals with a few different parts of the natural world that people don’t like to think about, even if they know that such things happen. The three main stories that push this movie forward are great examples of how people have disconnected from each other over the years and how the act has normalized in a tragic way. 

credit: Disconnect

The realism used in this movie is kind of disquieting but understandable. 

When a reporter attempts to learn more about a place that houses a group of young sex workers, she creates a bigger mess than her source wants. Near the movie’s end, her career goes from a high note when exposing the house to ground zero when she attempts to convince the sex worker she contacted to leave his job and come with her. Another family has nearly torn apart when their son and brother are tricked into sending a nude photo to a false account, which he thinks is a young woman who likes him, by two pranksters who have little to no regard for the people they hurt. Yet another story has to do with a younger couple that has not only lost a child but also had their identities stolen. 

Each story is very loosely connected, but the sad part is that each story shows loose connections between the individuals involved. 

The point of this movie is that people suffer from being disconnected from each other, society, and pretty much everything that doesn’t keep them interested for more than a few seconds. But the sad part is that people are disconnected from those who should matter the most, which becomes a much bigger issue that only worsens the initial problems highlighted in the movie. The lack of communication between parents and their children and people who need to be open tears people apart the most and keeps individuals from being able to talk to each other as they should, much like this movie appears to prove. The fact that the family has no idea what is going on in the lives of their children is a little too easy to believe since these days, it is far too easy to stick a child in front of a screen, be it a TV or a device, to go about one’s daily life, while seeking to provide for the said child and give them a better existence in one way or another. The cycle that has been ongoing for years is one of the most significant points of this story that many people should no doubt be able to recognize. 

credit: Disconnect

In some aspects, how people communicate in this movie has become a standard way for society to behave. 

The saddening thing about this movie is that people can easily relate to the hopelessness and despair that the characters are feeling, and the hope for a better day is something that stands out as a reality that many are working toward with everything they have, no matter that it is so tough. The effort to regain some part of the life they just lost is a struggle that many people throughout the world have experienced at some point in life, and it takes a great deal of understanding and can cause a great deal of pain that has to be endured and pushed through. 

It’s not hard to see why many people don’t know about or don’t care about this movie. 

From a critic’s standpoint, it’s easy to think that this movie would be given a great deal of respect since it delves into an authentic subject many people have to deal with. But as it’s often been seen, realistic movies don’t always perform quite as well for various reasons. In telling three different stories that barely connect with the finest of threads, it’s easy to see how this movie would be confusing to some folks. Still, in the end, it is an eye-opener that makes a person feel lucky if they never have to encounter this type of stress in their life.