Watched Detachment on Netflix. Wow. And so sad...

[MichiganVote]

3. Well sure, some parts are "unrealistic". But then drama is not a documentary.

I liked the film b/c much of the symbolism seemed to offer the viewers the opportunity to think. And some viewers may relate as well to the scenes you mention.

The poverty was sanitized in my experience. The woman who came to school to protest her daughter's expulsion, I've met the type, several times over. As for the parent conferences, while I haven't seen or heard of no parents showing up, teachers commonly complain of low parent turn out at schools with low income students.

The end of the film with the symbolism of the papers, desks in disarray, reminded me of the pictures of Detroit schools.