Compliance (2012)
7/10
Research made me re-evaluate this film.
9 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
After receiving a phone call claiming that one of her employees has stolen money from a customer, manager Sandra takes Becky into the back room, interrogates her, strip searches her and humiliates her, all because the voice on the other end of the phone claims to be a police officer.

This film had the same affect on me as the film Blindness did. Anger. I hated the characters, I hated what they were doing and I was yelling at the screen in disbelief. After the film was over, I had to search the incident and see just how much of this ridiculous tale was true. I was sure that once the girl was doing jumping jacks that the filmmakers took some creative liberties....boy was I wrong.

The film, until the end, is truthful to the events that played out in real life. I can't fault the film for portraying what literally happened, no matter how inane the people and the requests were. I sat there thinking there is no way in hell that these people are that stupid that they wouldn't question the voice on the other end of the phone. I think the choice on the filmmakers part that really put me over the edge was having the so called police officer, talk down to them, calling them stupid and to shut up. How, at that point in time does nothing click for you is beyond me.

Despite the film being small, confined and focused on one main topic, I felt glued to the screen with the stupidity of the characters and wondering how far will this guy take it. I felt sorry for Sandra, played very well by Ann Dowd, until she started back talking Becky. At that point my sadness for her stopped and my anger rose. Sure she was stupid for starting it, but you could tell she didn't want to. After she brought her husband into the picture, that went out the window.

Competently directed, nothing visual that really stands out, the camera served the story. A young girl being mistreated in a small room. The acting, for the most part felt natural to me. The small things that the actors do reflect real life, awkward laughter at an odd request was something I caught from the husband.

If a film gets me searching on the internet for more information, then bravo. If a film's goal was to infuriate me, mission accomplished. Compliance is a film that shows how stupid and gullible people can be. Stand up for yourself, use common sense and question authority.
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