Disclosure

Disclosure (in Latin America: Acoso sexual, in Spain: Acoso) is an American thriller film from 1994 directed by Barry Levinson and starring Michael Douglas, Demi Moore and Donald Sutherland. It premiered in December 1994 in the United States and in January 1995 in Latin America and Spain. The script is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, who is also a producer of the film.

Plot

The film is a combination of mystery and suspense about corporate politics and intrigue in the computer industry. The main story theme around which both the movie and the book revolve, and from which they take their titles, is sexual harassment: there is an executive from a computer company in Seattle called DigiCom. His name is Tom Sanders. He is denounced for sexual harassment by a rival top executive named Meredith Johnson, a sexual harasser who enters the company at the hands of company president Bob Garvin to become Sanders' new boss. This demand is later countered by Sanders alleging that it was Johnson who had harassed him, which is also true and that Johnson wants to take revenge with this false complaint for having resisted in this regard.

However, Tom eventually discovers that the harassment complaint made against him was nothing more than a diversion to prevent him from discovering incompetence perpetrated by Meredith at a company's computer production factory in Malaysia, who later she would be protected by Bob to avoid the failure of a succulent deal with another company that Johnson organized.

Finally, Tom manages to get out of the situation with the help of three women: his lawyer, Catherine Alvarez; his wife, Susan, also a lawyer, though she initially doesn't believe him; and Stephanie Kaplan, the company's financial director, who will also take advantage of the situation to promote in the company, obtaining by Bob the position initially given to Meredith who is fired by Bob when he finally realizes how dangerous she is. It is also hinted that Tom Sanders will take over from Kaplan once she leaves.

The film invites viewers to consider some issues about workplace sexual harassment, such as the way the facts are exaggerated, the double standards applied whether the harasser is male or female, and the ease with which sexual harassment charges are Harassment can be used as a tool in the competition for corporate ladder. Likewise, it relapses into the idea that sexual harassment is not an issue influenced by gender dynamics.

Cast

• Michael Douglas - Tom Sanders
• Demi Moore - Meredith Johnson
• Donald Sutherland - Bob Garvin
• Caroline Goodall - Susan Hendler
• Roma Maffia - Catherine Alvarez
• Dylan Baker - Philip Blackburn
• Rosemary Forsyth - Stephanie Kaplan
• Dennis Miller - Mark Lewyn
• Suzie Plakson - Mary Anne Hunter
• Nicholas Sadler - Don Cherry
• Jacqueline Kim - Cindy Chang
• Joe Urla - John Conley Jr.
• Michael Chieffo - Stephen Chase

Production

Michael Crichton. Even before publishing the novel, he sold the rights to make the film for a million dollars. Milos Forman was initially thought to direct, but he was replaced by Barry Levinson, when he showed creative differences with Crichton.

Annette Bening was originally set to play the lead but became pregnant before filming. Madeleine Stowe, Jennifer Lopez, Geena Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer were also considered until Barry Levinson finally cast Demi Moore. At the same time, Dennis Miller was the first choice for the role of lead Sanders. He was ultimately received by Michael Douglas.

Reception

The cinematographic work received negative reviews, but it was still a great box office success to the point of having raised 214 million dollars, thus placing it in eleventh position on the list of the highest grossing films of 1994. It was a success of box office, among other things, because it reversed the roles on sexual harassment by putting a woman as a harasser and a man as a harassed. Thanks to this, this film also revived the controversy over sexual harassment at work to the point that there were television debates about it.

Today this film continues to be very popular both in the video store and on television.

Awards and nominations

• ALFS Award 1996.
  • Paul Attanasio, the best writer of the year.
• 1995 MTV Movie Awards.
  • Demi Moore, for the best villain.
  • Demi Moore, for the most desired female character.