COMPLIANCE (2012)

COMPLIANCE (2012) Director: Craig Zobel

It takes quite a bit to court controversy these days. We’re a bit numb. A relatively sophisticated person might approach this film with a great deal of skepticism, in spite of the giant “Inspired by True Events” that blares in a screen-filling font before the title. A number of people walked out of screenings, feeling that they were watching some sort of exploitation film or, at the very least, someone’s sick fantasy. I don’t think that’s what director Zobel was attempting to do; I think there are some deep questions that need to be asked about this film.

If you haven’t seen it yet, as it’s still in wide release, I’m not really ruining the film by telling you the following: Compliance tells the story of a prank phone call to a fast food restaurant that leads to a series of troubling events. The only person with any authority for the first hour and a quarter is restaurant manager Sandra (a great performance by Ann Dowd), who is taken in by the prank caller (Pat Healy, who joins the likes of Bill McKinney, Ted Levine, and Peter Lorre in the pantheon of creepy movie character portrayers), accepting that he is a police officer, even as he accuses employee Becky (Dreama Walker) of stealing from a customer’s purse and subjecting her to a number of humiliating searches.

While there are aspects of this that strain credulity, the real question is this: Why did Sandra give up her authority so quickly to a stranger she only spoke to over the phone? Well, the pranker didn’t call NASA… he called a fast food restaurant on the busiest day of the week. The exploitation takes a deeper level of perversion when you realize that the prankster is preying not only on Becky, but also on Sandra, by playing with her fears of her regional manager (who’s name the caller has already looked up) and alternately flattering her for meeting his demands. Sandra is manipulated because she’s interested in doing the right thing, motivated by pleasing her superiors, too tired from working to think straight, and (frankly) not educated enough to question authority, real or otherwise.

Fans of great film acting have a new heroine in Ann Dowd, who is never unbelievable as Sandra, resists the temptation to make her seem too stupid, and shows incredible depths to a character who might have been made comical in less capable hands. Sandra maintains a certain level of dignity that makes it difficult for her subordinates to take her too seriously when she tries to be a regular person. Outside of her relationship with Van (Bill Camp), who also gets drawn into the story, it seems that Sandra takes her job seriously, perhaps too seriously. Ann Dowd deserves the recognition she will be getting this year, hopefully at awards ceremonies and in further casting.

And so, more than anything, more than the uncomfortable nude scene and the excruciating manipulations of the prank caller, the film is really about the importance we put into our jobs, what we think is moral, the information we use to process our decisions, and who we choose to serve and obey. It’s a well-made and thoughtful film that deserves attention and discussion.