(These are just a few quick ramblings on Compliance. There’s much more to think through, but for now, here are some thoughts, random and disjointed as they may be.)
Every now and then I run across a movie that I just don’t know how to review. I was infuriated by Craig Zobel’s Compliance (2012), yet appreciated many elements of the film. On a certain level, the film is effective, yet it’s also the most uncomfortable viewing experience I’ve had in years.
Here’s the set-up: the manager of a fast-food restaurant gets a call from a police officer stating that one of the restaurant’s employees has stolen money from a customer. It doesn’t take us, the audience, very long to realize that this is a prank and we keep thinking, “Someone’s going to realize what’s going on here and stop it.” Of course, if they did, we’d have a 15-minute movie.
What follows is a degrading, humiliating experience that’s extremely difficult - at times painful - to watch. At so many points we think, “How could these people be so stupid?” Yet, according to the film’s closing credits, these types of incidents occurred over 70 times in 30 states (over what period of time and to what degree of similarity, I’m not sure).
Zobel clearly wants to make us aware of an enormous social problem, one that’s bigger than prank phone calls. While watching the film I kept wondering, “Why didn’t Zobel just make a documentary about this?”, but then I realized such a choice would cause many of the victims and victims’ families to relive these nightmares.
Maybe Zobel wants to infuriate us not only to be aware of these scams, but also to think before we act, and maybe to do something positive, to get involved. I don’t know. Again, these are just my ramblings... If you’ve seen the movie and have had time to mull over it, please share your thoughts.
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