Disclaimer Makes A Major Book Change From The Very Beginning & It Makes Cate Blanchett's Show Better

Academy Award-winning director and writer Alfonso Cuarón makes his television debut on Apple TV with the limited series Disclaimer, and it makes an important change to the source material. The thriller is an adaptation of Renée Knight's eponymous novel, about a famous journalist trapped in a cat and mouse chase with an unknown author who has published a thriller where she is the main protagonist, and which exposes her deepest, darkest secret. In episode 1, however, Disclaimer takes a turn from the book's narrative, revealing one of its main mysteries.

Reviews for Disclaimer have praised the show for its manipulation of narrative and its captivating cinematography. While Knight's book sets up the use of two contrasting points of view to heighten the mystery and suspense, Cuarón goes one step further, using three voices to pull the reader in. Notably, Disclaimer benefits from an A-list cast, with Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline leading the viewer through intersecting, yet clashing paths, which promise a crescendo of emotions and a truly gripping experience.

How Catherine Gets The Perfect Stranger in Disclaimer: Book vs. Show

In The Book, Catherine Finds It On Her Bedside Table

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The Apple TV show evades one of the book's main mysteries: who sent Catherine the book that exposes her past? In Renée Knight's novel, Catherine finds the incriminating text on her bedside table, and the terror that overcomes her is not only that someone knows what she did, but that they were in her house. Knight's Disclaimer keeps the identity of the vengeful author hidden for half of the story — haunting its victim and burdening its reader with the task of putting the pieces together.

Renée Knight's novel goes back and forth between two points of view, Catherine's told from the third person, and Stephen Brigstocke's in the first person. How Stephen Brigstocke connects to Catherine is a mystery that unravels slowly, with many passages dedicated to events from his past life that do not necessarily suggest he is Catherine's stalker.

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Cuarón's show quickly subverts Knight's formula. Catherine does receive a strange book (in the mail), but it doesn't take long before the audience knows who sent it. In episode 1, Disclaimer introduces Stephen Brigstocke as Jonathan's father and Catherine's punisher. Not only that, but Cuarón also reveals that Stephen's deceased wife, Nancy Brigstocke, wrote the book that would expose Catherine's sins.

The acclaimed screenwriter also modifies the book's original voices. On voice-over, Stephen narrates in the first person, but Catherine's point of view is told in the second person, adding a layer of complexity to her thoughts. Finally, we have cinematography as a third voice, one that reveals the connections between the characters, and promises an unbiased look into their pasts.

Why The Disclaimer Show's Change Makes The Catherine Story Better

The Disclaimer Show Makes The Audience Complicit In The Narrative

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Unlike Knight's novel, Cuarón's Disclaimer has nothing to hide from you, or so it wants you to think. By doing without the mystery of who sent Catherine the book, Cuarón directs the audience's attention to a more pressing, more challenging task — determining who is telling the truth. When Catherine was young, she met Jonathan Brigstocke, and whatever happened between the two ended with his death. Jonathan's father believes Catherine is to blame, and must be punished, but whether this this the case is unclear.

Cuarón's cunning manipulation of Renée Knight's narrative takes the saying there are two sides to every story to new heights.

Disclaimer's 81% Rotten Tomatoes score demonstrates the early success of Cuarón's craft. The show lays its cards on the table from the get-go, provoking a mystery bigger than an anonymous stalker. With Catherine's narration beating her down, and Stephen absorbed in his revenge quest, the audience can ultimately trust one. The camera promises to reveal what happened — except it knows there is more than meets the eye. The show's introduction comes with a warning: "Beware of narrative and form. Their power can bring us closer to the truth, but they can also be a weapon with great power to manipulate."

Cuarón's cunning manipulation of Renée Knight's narrative takes the saying there are two sides to every story to new heights. As Stephen and Catherine lay bare their reasons and prepare for a confrontation, Disclaimer makes its viewers the judgers of the truth. Along the journey, however, the audience is exposed for being complicit in favoring one voice over the other. Disclaimer is in the hands of a master storyteller, whether Cuarón will be able to replicate the book's shocking twist remains to be discovered.