Detachment: A Classroom In Chaos

By Mia Cruz

“Detachment” is a unique movie highlighting Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher who seems to lose his way in life with crushing depression. This movie deals with fundamental and dark issues, focusing on the American school system's serious dilemma. I believe this movie offers many life lessons.

At the beginning of the movie, Henry is a very nonchalant teacher, which I found to be at a loss because it seemed he didn’t want to be teaching at all. Although he handles disruptive students very well by not giving in to their outbursts of emotion and completely shutting down any further unruly behaviors, he doesn’t actually teach something meaningful. Overall, his teaching seems very basic and doesn’t show any desire to become an actual teacher, which, of course, underlines the whole point of his character with the “in and out” mentality. 

Moving through the movie, we carry on to the inciting incident when Henry finds a runaway teenager engaging in prostitution to make ends meet. In the scene where they first meet, he completely ignores a man beating her on the bus, which is absolutely disgusting of him not to take action. I believe that it marks his character, but he soon redeems himself by taking in the teenage runaway and raising her, which hints that he has some sympathy. 

This movie really focuses on the beauty of teaching, which is why everyone should watch it for the sole reason that they understand where teachers are coming from and the number of disadvantages they are constantly facing. A scene that highlights Henry Barthes’ genuine passion for teaching is when he writes the word “Indifference” on the board and tells the students that teachers try to teach, but sometimes they can’t because the system is broken allowing them to think broadly for themselves; a lovely scene scoping every teacher's view.

I would say something that is so very heart-wrenching is that Henry has a grandfather who is in a mental hospital for having dementia. Every night he reads to his grandfather, which tells us how much we students don’t know anything about our teachers' personal lives, an important message in the movie to learn. However, later in the film, it is revealed that the reason his mother killed herself was because his grandfather was sexually assaulting her; another serious issue that this movie calls attention to. 

I always enjoy a happy ending; however, this movie doesn’t exactly have one. If you are expecting there to be a whole happy ending, then don’t watch this movie; it only ever shows the unsettling reality of life trials. I know there are people like me who find movies like this drama captivating and eye-opening. 

This movie is definitely not for everyone. It is just a very deep movie that, at times, makes it very uncomfortable to watch, and if you're not comfortable with watching movies that are as intense as this one, then you shouldn’t watch it. It’s not a normal movie about teachers; instead, it reveals Henry's unsettling honesty in trying to live his life.