Disclaimer is an Apple TV+ miniseries, with a suspenseful plot and lineup led by Cate Blanchett. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the series traces together hidden truths and the manipulation of memory to unwrap what happens when long-buried secrets are finally uncovered.
Disclaimer revolves around the "perfect" life of documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett). Everything comes to light after she gets a mysterious novel that appears to recount her darkest secret: an affair with a younger man, Jonathan (Louis Partridge), who died saving her son's life years earlier.
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The shocking twist, however, is that this book wasn't written by a stranger. It's penned by Nancy Brigstocke (Lesley Manville), the late mother of Jonathan. As Catherine confronts her past and the repercussions of her actions, Disclaimer skillfully blurs the line between truth and fiction.
So what exactly was the secret in the Disclaimer miniseries?
Catherine’s secret affair changed everything on Disclaimer
Central to Disclaimer is Catherine's affair with Jonathan, much younger than herself, when she was on vacation with her young son, Nicholas. Deftly, past and present are woven together gradually through the events of that ill-fated summer.
Jonathan, the son of Nancy and Stephen Brigstocke, becomes engaged to Catherine, leading to a chain of events that culminates in a tragic ending.
Jonathan drowns trying to save Nicholas, while Catherine keeps quiet about the engagement to her family, concealing this information to protect them from shame. The novel The Perfect Stranger blows wide open the secret, pushing Catherine to deal with the aftermath.
The novel further elaborates on the affair but is not at all hesitant to add explicit photographs as somewhat incriminating evidence against the protagonists, leaving no doubt that the affair wasn't a delusion of any individual's mind.
According to the review of Disclaimer by LA Times, several years after her death, the manuscript was discovered by her husband, Stephen, who uses it as a tool for revenge.
He publishes the book, hoping to destroy her life just as her affair has destroyed his family. The meticulous way in which Nancy writes the novel, with details of Jonathan's life and death, adds a chilling layer to the story.
Under Cuarón's direction and Blanchett's performance, the emotional complexity of Catherine's journey and her guilt over her life is more understandable as she struggles to keep her existence together even as the book opens up and falls into the hands of her family and friends.
According to Clint Worthington's review, the whole series toys around with the audience's perception, leaving the audience to question whether Catherine is a sort of victim of circumstances or if indeed she has been hiding a darker side all along.
Stephen’s revenge and the consequences of truth in Disclaimer
Of course, Jonathan's father, Stephen Brigstocke, comes into the story and has to represent the thrusting theme of revenge and its moral difficulties. The day he finds the manuscript he recognizes it as his very opportunity for revenge against the son whose death led the way to his wife walking out on him.
He blames Catherine not only for Jonathan's death but for the years of sorrow Nancy suffers. The way Stephen meticulously plans his revenge using the novel as a public notice against Catherine makes him one of the show's most compelling characters.
According to the aforementioned review, Stephen acted out of the loss of his wife, not the depth of love he had for his son. He's a tragic figure and sinister in that he manipulates the people around him even to the point of moving the online front of catfishing around Nicholas, Catherine's son, to place an even deeper wedge between mother and son.
Stephen is enhanced by the depth that Kevin Kline brings to the character, portraying him as both a grieving father and a man who takes pleasure in the destruction of Catherine's life.
The moral vagueness of Disclaimer leaves the audience wondering if Stephen's revenge is deserved. Does she deserve to be a villain in the play by keeping her affair secret, or is his desire to avenge her more evil?
The show does not give easy answers but instead makes it necessary for the viewer to reflect on the consequences of their quest for retribution. According to NPR, Disclaimer taps into an uncomfortable truth: that we often enjoy the fall of the mighty, even if that means the cost of someone's humanity.
Disclaimer is available exclusively on Apple TV+.
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