Compliance (2012)

Film: Compliance (2012)
Stars: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp
Director: Craig Zobel
Oscar History: None (though Dowd picked up a BFCA and Spirit nomination)
(Slightly) Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

People talk about the comfort of going to a movie in their own home, and normally I scoff at it-my experience is that it's almost always better to see a film in a darkened theater, surrounded by strangers whom you are sharing the experience with at the same time, brought together by the movies (I wax on and on about the experience of seeing a movie, any movie, in the theaters quite often).  However, there are movies that while the theater experience was probably the better choice, I still wish I had done in the comfort of my home, where I could pause, hide under the afghan on the back of my couch, and possibly go into the other room to google search the ending so I could continue watching the movie.  Compliance would fall under that umbrella.

(Spoilers Abound, and honestly, if you plan on seeing this film, learn as little as is humanly possible about it) The film takes place in a chicken fast food place, and two of our three protagonists don't care too much for each other, but it's not a hatred or a dislike, exactly.  One is a young woman (Walker, best known for her work in Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23) who is clearly not thrilled about being a fast food teller, and is only here for the money.  The second is Dowd, playing Sandra, the store's manager, who obviously relishes in her job and is on the cusp of getting everything she ever wanted-she's about to get engaged, she likes her job, and happiness is right around the corner.

And finally, enter a third protagonist-a man on the phone who identifies as a policeman who states that Walker's Becky has stolen from a customer, and that Dowd needs to detain her until the police arrive.  Slowly but steadily, we watch as Dowd, Walker, and eventually Dowd's fiance (Camp) succumb to every order that the caller (Pat Healy) gives to them, from at first seemingly innocent requests (having Becky empty her pockets) to the disgusting and depraved (before they eventually discover Healy's true identity, Becky is forced to have oral sex with Camp's character and do jumping jacks naked in front of him).

The film takes a bitter examination of us as a society, and shines a rather unseemly light at how we view authority.  We all want to be the ones who wouldn't allow this to happen, that would scoff in the face of such absurd requests and seemingly obvious lies, but every day we do things that we wouldn't traditionally do because of what authority demands of us.  Obviously, it's not every day that we would go as far as this film, but that capacity to bend to authority, to crave the "job well done" that comes with obeying orders, is innately in us as a society.  Looking at the works of Stanley Milgram, we see that people will follow authority without thought and oftentimes blindly, a terrifying thing to consider.  I've read some reviewers who adamantly and ignorantly called the people in the film stupid and "backwards," but the reality is that we see people like Becky and Sandra every day, basically good people who, given unfortunate circumstances, make devastating decisions.

There's a reason that I say slightly before the snap judgment ranking above, and that's because, while I typically write a review of a film on the blog right after I see it, I couldn't bring myself to do it for Compliance.  I actually had a 20-minute conversation with my brother about the film, trying to sort out my reactions to it.  I have to say, there were moments in the film that I was so uncomfortable, I thought I needed to leave.  Particularly in the film's second half, when Camp's character Van enters the scene, and the movie becomes more twisted and less believable (though, obviously, still all true), I literally squirmed in my seat and felt nauseated.  I stuck it out though, and am glad that I did, because after gaining a bit of distance from the film, I was able to sort out my feelings a bit-it was a combination of rage, fear, and deep disgust for what someone did in the face of simple authority.  It also invites the question of how far would we would have gone in the same situation-when would would we have found our threshold?

Films that invite this sort of emotional pull and deep internal debate are worth investigating, even if they aren't your personal cup of tea, and so while it may take a while to decide whether I loved or hated the movie, I have to admit I would recommend it to people.  Ann Dowd is deservingly receiving massive kudos for the film, particularly for her naturalism onscreen.  She doesn't play Sandra as a villain (which I don't think she necessarily is), but she doesn't play her as innocent either (which again, I don't think she is).  In the opening scenes of the film, you see her verbally demeaned by a truck driver, and throughout the opening scenes, you see her insulted and casually tossed aside by various coworkers.  Part of me wonders how much she craved the recognition for some sort of kudos after failing so often, which made her particularly susceptible to the charms of Healy's "Officer Daniels."

Equally good is Walker, who is clearly being wasted on the how-did-it-get-a-second-season B in Apt 23.  Walker's character rarely loses focus, and you watch as she slowly and steadily loses her ability to make decisions.  By the time that the sexual assault occurs, you see in Walker's blank eyes a woman who no longer knows right from wrong, and doesn't seem to have the ability to challenge authority, even when faced with obviously ludicrous and dangerous "requests."

The film isn't perfect, structurally, and is more effective in the opening half.  Though it's based on a true story, as we begin to know the casualness with which Officer Daniels is treating the entire situation (eating a sandwich and working on the computer while talking to the restaurant workers), you get less of the sense of claustrophobia that you felt when the movie stays in that backroom, and we're left guessing who the person on the end of the line is.  Additionally, while all of the actors are excellent, Camp's Van seems to not question the quick escalation of his requests quite strongly enough, and we aren't given much indication from the character that either he A) doesn't want to do what's being asked or B) relishes the situation that he's been put into, being put "in charge" of a beautiful young woman.   Either one of those motives would have seemed plausible within the confines of the film, but neither is attributed to the character, making the final third of the film a bit unbelievable, even if it's factual (just because it's based on a true story doesn't mean that you don't have to adhere to plausible realism).

So, in conclusion (nine paragraphs in, it seems like it's time), I have to say that while I didn't like the film in every sense of the word, I have to say that I respected the hell out of it.  A filmmaker that can make this provocative of a study of human nature deserves to be on all of our radars, and the performances of Dowd and Walker are well worth checking out, even if you may find yourself wishing you'd gone for something a bit easier to digest.

And of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts-what'd you think of Compliance?  Did you also feel the urge to get out of the theater (something I never really consider, for the record)?  Or were you too glued to the edge of your seat?  And do you think that Dowd's performance will be remembered come awards season?