“Compliance” is one of those films that are inspired by chilling events. It’s something that usually draws some people into a film without hearing any press on it. That wasn’t the case with me. All the positive reviews that this film was getting for its performances are what drew to me to seeing this film for myself.
The film is about a stressed out manager fast food manager (Ann Dowd), who receives a mysterious phone call from a police officer. The officer says that Becky (Dreama Walker), a pretty young blonde has stolen money from one of the customers. The manager is convinced that she’s doing the right thing, by helping the officer no matter how omnipresent and intrusive they become.
Film Review:
“Compliance” is a very disturbing and shocking film. One of the reasons for that was that Craig Zobel’s direction felt raw and hauntingly realistic. Most of that had to with his direction and the way the cinematographer shot the film. There were some scenes in the film, where it was just horrifying to watch because of its realistic feel. It felt like you were watching a horror film without the blood and gore that you would necessarily need to create that effect. It made for some very disturbing sequences.
The other thing that I liked about Zobel’s direction was the way that he handles his cast. The acting in this film was great. I liked the fact that he takes his time to make sure that performances are what they need to be for this to work. Ann Dowd is very good in this film, as the store manager. She does a great job making her character so real to the point that this could actually happen. I’m surprised that there was little talk about her performance during this year’s Oscar season. Besides that performance, the film also has some excellent supporting performances from Dreama Walker and Pat Healy. That is what happens when a good director focuses on the performance aspects to make the characters interesting.
Zobel’s screenplay was just as good as his direction of the film. One of the things that I liked about his screenplay was that there was never a minute without tension throughout the story. Zobel does a very good job in making the subject matter very disturbing. This could have been one of those films, where it could’ve felt like one long phone conversation for over most of the film. Instead, it helps makes the film move at a reasonable pace because of all these disturbing elements. The other thing that I liked about this was that it had an epilogue to the story. Sometimes with films like these, the film would end abruptly. It wasn’t the case here, as Zobel does a very good job including the aftermath of the incident. Without giving anything away, it severed it purpose to the story and psychology of the characters after the fact.
DVD Extras:
The extras start off with “Interview with Director Craig Zobel”. Sadly, this was the longest featurette clocking at ten minutes. This was a good featurette, as Zobel talks about the making the film. From the technical aspects to the subject material, he goes into detail about the filming process. The second featurette is “Behind the Scenes of Compliance” It was a very brief two minute featurette featuring interviews from director Craig Zobel, actress Ann Dowd and actor Pat Healy. It would have been nice to have the interviews of the actors extended, as their thoughts were very brief and didn’t include anything about the filming process. The last featurette is “AXS TV: A Look at Compliance”. It was a very generic featurette that features clips from the “Interview with Director Craig Zobel” featurette. That’s what you typically expect on all of these Magnolia releases. Then, the disc wraps up the film’s theatrical trailer and trailers for other Magnolia releases. With the exception of the Craig Zobel interview, Magnolia Pictures dropped the ball with the extras on this release.
Final Thoughts:
“Compliance” was one of those films that were overlooked when the Academy Awards were announced. The film has a great performance from Ann Dowd and a very disturbing screenplay.
Review Rating: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star
Great review Anthony, really thought it was well done all around.