Directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), Detachment tells the story of an emotionally withdrawn substitute teacher, Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody), whose world is turned upside down as his professional and personal life simultaneously begin to unravel and the walls he’s built around himself crumble, leaving him completely exposed. Henry’s story is echoed in the lives of his fellow high school teachers, each trying their hardest to maintain a healthy emotional perspective and distance in an environment that pushes each of them to the edge of chaos.
Henry visits his senile grandfather, who suffers from advanced dementia, everyday in the hospital. His grandfather is constantly haunted by hallucinations of his daughter, Henry’s mother, who killed herself when Henry was just a young boy. In a rare moment of clarity, Henry’s grandfather suggests that it was this event that caused Henry to shut down emotionally for the rest of his life. Henry’s defensive armor, however, is slowly chipped away throughout the film by three women: Meredith (Betty Kaye), an artistically gifted student who is brutally mocked by her peers; Ms. Madison (Christina Hendricks), a fellow teacher and love interest; and Erica (Sami Gayle), a young girl prostituting herself on the street whom he takes into his home.
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