Review of Compliance (2012) by Colson V — 16 Feb 2013

Because a film about the inner workings of a fast food restaurant isn't nearly disturbing enough, we get "Compliance," a bold, equally maddening piece of work that will provoke thought, test patience, and turn stomachs.

"Compliance" traces a busy Friday evening at an average, all-American fast food joint. Sandra (Ann Dowd, in an award-worthy turn) is the manager; commencing her workday with utter seriousness. She nags her employees, making few friends in the process and finds embellishing her sexual exploits an acceptable way of getting their approval. She has her favorites though, but early on we sense Becky (Dreama Walker) isn't one of them.

She seems like your regular teen; working a dead end job she hates but fears losing. When a mysterious caller, claiming to be a policeman, informs Sandra that Becky has committed a theft, the girl is restrained at her own will in a back room monitored by management and a variety of clueless staff. The caller demands that Becky be stripped searched, but that's only the beginning. The caller progressively pushes the boundaries while a compliant Sandra never questions his authority. With work pilling up, Sandra is persuaded to get her fiancee involved.

Few films will test your endurance the way "Compliance" does. This is a harrowing work of realist depravity. How much psychological abuse can we take? In a film of characters making the poorest decisions imaginable, which will be the one to make us finally cry "uncle?" It's a testament to the film's power that we cannot look away. We are helpless observers...and we are involved in the proceedings whether we like it or not. Knowing the film is based on true events (and doesn't stray far from fact) is simple staggering.

Most fascinating is how the filmmakers shift our perception on the film's characters; especially that of Becky. A lesser film would have her portrayed as a helpless victim, rendering the film exploitative. "Compliance" is smarter than that. Writer/ director Craig Zobel makes Becky a victim of herself. Why can't she grasp the lunacy of her situation?Can she not sense that something's clearly off? She can bring the situation to a halt at any time, but through her naivety chooses not to. She is simultaneously the oppressed and the oppressor. Alternately, Sandra sporadically comes off as sympathetic. We sense she's just trying to do the right thing but her common sense unfortunately rests on a shaky foundation. She's obviously preoccupied; with Friday being the busiest workday and all!

Early on, the identity of the mystery caller is revealed. Well played. "Compliance" doesn't wan't to be a mystery film and from the get go establishes itself as something that can't simply be categorized under cinema's various tropes. It's Zobel's determination to have the film play by nobody's rules but his own that makes it so strong. There is a scene in the final act involving Sandra's husband that brought me to almost punch a hole in my TV screen. It's so over the top and far removed from anything that a person would subject themselves to that even after I found out it actually happened, I was shocked it made it's way into the film. The filmmakers just lay it all on the line.Whether it makes their film seem less credible or whether or not an audience can accept it is of little concern; and that's brave.

"Compliance" is a wakeup call to a society that would allow such events to occur in the first place. It's not a movie to simply enjoy, rather a cerebral one to discuss and reflect on. It's not an easy watch, but In it's own way it's quite the film, and despite it's content deserves to be seen by all ages.