'Disclaimer's Dual Narrators Have a Deeper Meaning (2024)

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Disclaimer.

Acclaimed Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón is making his debut on television, and the results couldn't be better. In Disclaimer, he directs Cate Blanchett in the role of Catherine Ravenscroft, an accomplished journalist whose documentaries are known to expose truths that people don't often want to face, but, as it turns out, she has one of those herself. To build the psychological thriller that unravels once someone else threatens to unveil Catherine's dark secret, Cuarón uses many clever narrative devices, but the smartest one is narration. The thing is, there's more than one narrator on Disclaimer, so let's keep track of what is happening.

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How Many Narrators Are There in ‘Disclaimer'?

One of the unique aspects of Disclaimer when compared to other series on streaming and television nowadays is the fact that it has not just one, but two narrators, both of whom don't perform the same narrative function at all. In fact, the way they narrate their respective storylines is completely different from one another, making them almost characters themselves.

The first narrator belongs to Catherine Ravenscroft and her side of the series, with the role being performed by Indira Varma. Varma's narrator has a very peculiar style, and, at first, may even confuse viewers because of how she is written. When narrating Catherine's own storyline, she uses second-person singular, as if narrating Catherine's own actions back to her, as well as what the protagonist thinks about the world around her, including her husband, Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen), and son, Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Varma also narrates Robert's actions and thoughts, but, with him, she uses the third-person singular, as if telling Catherine about her own husband.

On the Brigstocke side of Disclaimer, it's Stephen Brigstocke (Kevin Kline) who does his own narrating. Unlike Varma's omniscient narrator, however, Stephen's narration is only aware of what his character knows. He talks about his feelings using first-person singular, as if he were reflecting upon them, and the viewer is the witness. When he talks about his wife, Nancy (Lesley Manville), and son, Jonathan (Louis Partridge), he uses third-person singular, but always looks at them as objects in his own life and narrative.

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In ‘Disclaimer,’ Narrators Are More Than a Simple Story Device

Narrators are common and even expected in novels, but they are not that usual in movies and series. Unless it's the protagonist narrating their own story, it's not something we see every day on screens — so much so, that when a story comes along that makes clever use of narration, it becomes instantly recognizable. In for example, Stranger Than Fiction, Emma Thompson's character is unknowingly writing the story of Will Ferrell's in-movie protagonist, and her narration and his story eventually converge.

In Disclaimer, something similar happens, to the point of making it seem like Indira Varma's narrator is actually a character in the story, and that Catherine is aware of her, even though she is simply the inner monologue inside Catherine’s mind. Everything Catherine does is narrated directly back to her, as if someone were watching her or reading it in a book. This is a smart narrative device chosen by Cuarón, because there is indeed a novel in the series, The Perfect Stranger, which reveals a dark secret from Catherine's past.

There being an omniscient narrator who is not Catherine on her side of things then makes it feel like Catherine is losing control of her own life after she reads the book, and that her own sense of self is compromised as her deep-buried secret threatens to come out. Meanwhile, Stephen Brigstocke narrating everything in first-person singular shows the control he has over the whole situation, interacting with the Ravenscrofts and acting to get his revenge for Jonathan’s death. He uses first-person because he is doing everything himself, despite the book having actually been written by his wife before she died.

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Disclaimer having two narrators is a major departure from the original novel by Renée Knight, where there is a single omniscient narrator. It works perfectly in the series, though, despite narrators often being associated with written media and not visual ones. The difference between the two narrators and their approaches to the story is supposed to actively manipulate the viewers and their perceptions regarding the characters and their actions. Stephen's confidence and resolve contrast with Varma's calm and detachment, which makes us believe in the idea that Catherine is the one responsible for all the bad things that are happening. With the facts available so far, she may be, but, given how the narrators act almost as characters themselves in this story, there may yet come a surprising twist, so even they are not all that reliable.

Disclaimer is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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'Disclaimer's Dual Narrators Have a Deeper Meaning (1)
Disclaimer

Drama

Thriller

Mystery

Disclaimer is a 2024 psychological thriller miniseries following Catherine Ravenscroft, an acclaimed journalist known for exposing the misdeeds of others. Her life takes a shocking turn when she receives a novel from an unknown author that reveals her darkest secrets, forcing her to confront her past.

Release Date
October 10, 2024
Cast
Cate Blanchett , Sacha Baron Cohen , Kevin Kline , Lesley Manville , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Louis Partridge , Hoyeon , Whitney Kehinde

Main Genre
Drama

Seasons
1

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'Disclaimer's Dual Narrators Have a Deeper Meaning (2024)

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