Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Compliance - Movie Review

Compliance is a film that I heard a lot about from a bunch of my film critic friends and saw that it was getting favorable reviews. Now regardless if they were positive or negative, I totally wanted to see this film based on the plot but it was only in select theaters and of course didn't come to St. Louis. A few days when I was browsing Netflix I came across it and actually jumped out of my seat. I just had to find a time to watch it where I could be focused and that time was now.

Compliance is about a manager of a busy fast food restaurant (Ann Dowd) who gets a phone call from a police officer who informs her that one of her employees (Dreama Walker) stole some money from acustomer and wants the employee to be put in the back room until he gets there; and until he gets there, asks the manager to do certain tasks for him with each task getting more personal.

The film establishes a very nice tone in the opening minutes and really gets the audience entrenched in the setting and atmosphere of the movie. It shows how busy the store is, how stressed the manager is because her day isn't going, and how clumsy the teenagers working there are. I must say that the script of this film is very good. Given the events are based on a true story, and given research I did to see how true the story actually was... the script and story go hand in hand and the details are spot on. The way the film was directed was pretty impressive as well. It gives you the feel like you aren't watching a movie, but in fact you are in the restaurants witnessing the events that are going on. The mannerisms and the things these characters do, it's easy to see that they are the same things you and I would do if we were in the same situation. I don't want to give away the whole plot because about 30 minutes is where things really take off and get interesting. But I will say you will become interactive with the film. Some uneasy things do happen and they WILL affect you personally and the fact that these events REALLY happened, several times in many states, it will infuriate you .
It's a good movie with a really touchy subject. But it is a brilliantly made film with a lot of moments that will make you scream at the screen and ask WHY is this happening and WHAT is that character thinking... DON'T do it. I will say I enjoyed this movie as a movie itself, but I didn't enjoy the events going on. That would be pretty messed up. If anyone wants to watch a well made movie then this is your flick. The acting is superb on all counts (from the manager to the second cashier who haves only 8 minutes of screen time), and to me, the things the characters do given the position they are in I believe are very realistic in the way of how people would handle the situations they are placed in.

Some of you will be able to sit through this and not be disturbed; some will not want to finish because it will bother them. Honestly, I hope you can make it through because from a film stand point this movie is well made from all angles. Recommended.

4 out of 5 stars.

2 comments:

  1. Good review Brandon. It definitely shows us what the human mind can do when it's pushed to an edge and doesn't know what to do, but some of it just did not fit so well with me. I know it's a true story and all but are people really THIS stupid??!

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  2. It's an underseen film that really deserves a larger audience, really impressed by the acting and script. I was a bit unsettled to find out how accurate the movie was in relation to the real event.

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