Posts tagged compliance.

There is a fine line that many films walk, and just a few mistakes could mean falling into the realm of exploitation. Such situations in films often feel isolated and unrealistic, but “Compliance” presents a reserved yet haunting look at a situation that actually happened.

“Compliance is very unsettling, but well worth watching”

Movies Watched in 2012

299. Compliance (Craig Zobel, 2012)

I think this was a pretty great movie with some really strong performances from Dreama Walker and Ann Dowd. It’s not without it’s flaws - could have shaved off a bit of showing the caller which was unnecessary and often times took away from the tension/stress and some other minor details - but I think a large part of what makes it so great is knowing the reality behind the situation, and that no matter how ridiculous this might seem, it actually happened and it got a lot worse at times. It really grabs you by placing you straight into a situation where you’re just as helpless to what’s happening as the people in it. You want to yell at them, but you can’t do it. Some might use the words emotionally manipulative in a negative manner, but I found it the way they handled a topic as risky as this in a professional manner rather than an exploitative one. [4/5]