Critics often come across as sounding like know-it-alls and I think that sometimes we wish that we here. But, technically it's impossible to be a true know-it-all. However, we all do have some area (or areas) of expertise and it's always nice to be able to apply that to a review when I can. My wife has worked in education for over a decade and I've many stories about the ups and downs of her job. Thus, I was able to put some of this knowledge to use as I watched Detachment.

Adrien Brody stars in Detachment as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who drifts from one assignment to the next, never staying in a school for long. It appears that Henry likes it this way, as it allows him to keep his distance from others. He has enough issues in his life, as he's the caretaker of his grandfather (Louis Zorich), who lives in a nursing home and has Alzheimer's. Henry is called in to teach English at an inner-city high school. The principal, Carold Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden), informs Henry that he's getting a bad crowd and sure enough, in the first moments of class, he's verbally assaulted. However, showing patience and compassion, as well as a cool attitude, Henry is able to win over the kids, especially the sensitive Meredith (Betty Kaye). Henry also strikes up a friendship with fellow teacher, Sarah (Christina Hendricks). While going home one night, Henry meets a teenaged prostitute named Erica (Sami Gayle) and offers her something to eat. She stays at his apartment, and slowly begins to drop her tough facade. Even though Henry is helping several people, he begins to feel overwhelmed.

Detachment comes form Director Tony Kaye, who made his mark with 1998's American History X. Kaye's filmography has been sketchy since that point (this probably wasn't helped by the fact that he sued to have his name taken off of American History X and failed), so it's good to see him back on track with Detachment. To the best of my knowledge, this is a fictional script (by first-time writer Carl Lund) and it's not based on any true events, but the movie has a documentary feel to it. I guess technically it's not a docu-drama, but if you didn't recognize the actors, you would swear that this is real. Kaye has shot the film in a documentary style, using focus changes and zooms to give it that "you are there" feel. The movie certainly has a gritty feel which captures the essence of the school. Ironically, I've never seen Christina Hendricks look as pretty as she does here.

As far as the story goes, Detachment is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the movie brings to light a very, very important truth which plagues America's educational system -- the fact that many parents simply aren't involved in their child's learning experience. This is mentioned several times in the film, and I can tell you that it's true. There is also talk of how teachers should teach solely for end-of-grade test results, as that's the most important thing. This certainly comes from reality.

On the other hand, Detachment often wanders into very cliched and predictable territory. Like seemingly every other movie about high school, the film takes place at a dirty and scary urban school which is more like a prison -- the students are violent thugs and the teachers are all stressed out and hate their jobs. We get the usual assortment of the apathetic teacher, the meek teacher, the medicated teacher, etc. The students don't care and the teacher's don't either. Are there school like this? Of course there are. Is every school like this? Not by a long shot. Most schools are fairly middle-of-the-road. I'm not sure why movies feel the need to keep bringing us this same school. That aside, the movie is surprisingly predictable. Based on the overall tone of the movie, we get the sense that a lot of bad things will happen, and they do. These events should be shocking, but they aren't. The story involving Henry and Erica is interesting, as it gives depth to Henry's character, but it also feels unrealistic. Would a school teacher really bring home a teenaged prostitute?

Certain elements aside, Detachment is still a powerful movie. Once you cut through the overly-familiar and predictable elements of the story, the movie does bring some honest truths to light. While the teachers here border on caricatures, the issues raised are real. Kaye's nervous camera is annoying at times, but it also lends an air of tension to the movie. If nothing else, one must be impressed by the cast. In addition to the actors named above, we get James Caan, Lucy Liu, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen, Blythe Danner, and Bryan Cranston. Brody is very good in the lead role, as he deftly plays a man who is cool and calm on the outside, and turmoil on the inside. Detachment is an odd movie in that it's clearly flawed, but also powerful. You'll see it coming, but the movie still packs a punch and it will make you think about some of the things happening in our country right now.

Detachment takes the bake sale in a new direction on DVD courtesy of New Video. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing no defects from the source material. Again, given the documentary style of the film, we do get some grain and blurring here, but they are products of how the film was shot and not the transfer. The colors look realistic and the image shows little artifacting. The image does get a bit soft, but some shots are nicely detailed. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo and surround effects during the school hallway scenes are nicely done, as are the scenes in the city streets. The score fills the speakers and provides some mild subwoofer effects.

The Detachment DVD contains only two extra features. We get a 5-minute interview with Director Tony Kaye and Adrien Brody. The two are interviewed together, but they don't interact. This piece also contains clips from the movie, so the actual interview segments are relatively brief and the two only scratch the surface in discussing the movie and its themes. This is followed by interviews with Kaye and Brody from the red carpet at the film's premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival (3 minutes). Again, film clips dominate here and we only get a few seconds from the two.