A Review of Matrix by Laura Thibodeau

DISCLOSURE – Starring Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Donald Southerland, 1994, Rated R.
reviewed by Scott Trepanier
 

The film Disclosure brought two unique societal problems to the screen in the 1990’s. The movie combines the use of advanced technology with the fear of becoming the victim of sexual harassment in the work place. The film capitalizes on the idea that a woman (Demi Moore) in the 1990’s can use her position of power to sexual harass a male subordinate (Michael Douglas). The issue becomes quid pro quo, and that is when the competition begins between Douglas and Moore. They both rely on lawyers in an attempt to make the other look guilty of harassment. Then in a sudden twist they both end up relying on various types of technology in order to make the other look incompetent in managing a production line for their company called DigiCOM. Throughout the film the audience is reminded how quickly the technology industry is advancing. For example, while taking the ferry to work Douglas and a passenger talk about how small cellular telephones have become in the past couple of years. Another example occurs when Douglas announces to the company that his CD-ROM production line may put his product behind by 9 months. The company’s reaction tells us that a delay of only 9 months would kill the product, and large amounts of money would be lost.

The biggest technological thrill of the movie is the idea of creating a virtual reality office. This advanced technology gives a person the ability to store an entire company’s documents in a small virtual space. Douglas and Moore both use DigiCOM’s new Virtual reality office to hunt for legal documents that could alter their fate with the company. Michael Douglas looked rather humorous with his virtual reality headgear on as he went seeking for answers to DigiCOM's plot against him. However, the graphics looked even more ridiculous when he spied Demi Moore in the virtual room, and relied on a weird looking virtual angel to assist him in cyberworld.

The movie brings about several important issues that our society faces with technology. It makes the viewer realize the importance of backing up files, and using secure passwords. In addition, the movies use of video-conferencing and e-mails remind us how much faster we can obtain information.

The movie was a success because it used some of the biggest named stars in Hollywood, and combined it with two key selling ingredient – Sex, and deception. Moore and Douglas are in the type of role that they perform best. Donald Sutherland, plays the manipulative president of Digicom, and supports the cast.