One very busy day at a fictional fast-food restaurant, the harried manager (the great character actress Ann Dowd) gets a call from an "Officer Daniels" (Pat Healy). Daniels claims that attractive blonde employee Becky (Dreama Walker) has stolen from a customer, and spends practically the whole day and night getting the manager and various others to do some very unpleasant things, supposedly in the name of helping to incriminate Becky.
While watching this, the viewer is apt to think that NONE of this SHOULD ring true, except that this film is a dramatization of similar incidents that happened in real life (70 times in 30 states, according to the text at the end). The viewer is then apt to ponder the abject stupidity of his or her fellow man. Overall, the film devastatingly illustrates the blind trust that some of us place in figures of authority. Some of us automatically get nervous whenever confronted by someone "official", and have an instinct to obey.
But, one would think, common sense would take over at some point. And this "officer" (we see this character at home, calmly putting all of his victims through pure Hell, especially poor Becky) is always able to get them to do ridiculous things. It isn't until an aged franchise employee (Stephen Payne) puts his foot down that people start to seriously question the caller.
It might be hard for some viewers to truly enjoy this, but yours truly was riveted as this ugly nightmare played out. Even though the characters might be infuriating, all the actors involved do a good job, and screenwriter / director Craig Zobel gives the presentation pretty straightforward treatment, with very little in the way of "bells and whistles".
"Compliance" does have to get a debit, however, for that lousy music score.
Seven out of 10.
While watching this, the viewer is apt to think that NONE of this SHOULD ring true, except that this film is a dramatization of similar incidents that happened in real life (70 times in 30 states, according to the text at the end). The viewer is then apt to ponder the abject stupidity of his or her fellow man. Overall, the film devastatingly illustrates the blind trust that some of us place in figures of authority. Some of us automatically get nervous whenever confronted by someone "official", and have an instinct to obey.
But, one would think, common sense would take over at some point. And this "officer" (we see this character at home, calmly putting all of his victims through pure Hell, especially poor Becky) is always able to get them to do ridiculous things. It isn't until an aged franchise employee (Stephen Payne) puts his foot down that people start to seriously question the caller.
It might be hard for some viewers to truly enjoy this, but yours truly was riveted as this ugly nightmare played out. Even though the characters might be infuriating, all the actors involved do a good job, and screenwriter / director Craig Zobel gives the presentation pretty straightforward treatment, with very little in the way of "bells and whistles".
"Compliance" does have to get a debit, however, for that lousy music score.
Seven out of 10.