Review: 'Compliance' - A Skillfully Made and Harrowing Thriller

"Based on true events," in bold letters Craig Zobel's unnerving picture Compliance begins. One will find this hard to believe especially with the movie's fictionalized script populated with unlikely moments, but even so, the movie is mightily audacious. I understand the hate of some, for this movie, at some level, is difficult to bare. But this is due to the filmmaking involved; skillful, evocative and realistic, it demands your empathy to these characters you know you have met before.

Ann Doyd (Garden State) plays Sandra, the manager of a fast food restaurant, who receives a phone call from a man posing as a police officer. Through the phone call she learns that her young employee Becky (Dreama Walker, "Gossip Girl") may have stolen cash from one of the customers. This "officer" introduced only as Officer Daniels (played by Pat Healy, Rescue Dawn) tells Sandra to strip Becky naked and search for the missing dough. Mere hours after this, Daniels, have sexually violated the innocent Becky.

Loose dialogue add up to these relatable characters. The actors that play them provide a sense of palpable naturalism, as if you're inside the movie, helplessly witnessing the crime happen. Doyd is the treasure of the film. She captures an overworked woman with a weight of insecurities at the back of her shoulders. Walker ably plays her interesting character. Hours before her sexual assault, Becky had shown signs of promiscuity. These little touch provide ingenuity and added impact to the movie. Healy is pure evil in this.

The movie's moments are shot discreetly, suggesting things rather than showing. This is Zobel's sympathetic approach (the movie is based on the infamous 'strip-tease' case in 2004 at a McDonald's in Kentucky) which is quite admirable. Even so, the movie remains difficult to ingest. 

Depending on one's sensibilities, the movie will earn loathe and disgust. Those people who are prepared for provocation and shock, however, will find the movie an ingenious work. I'd like to include myself in the latter category.

VERDICT: B+