The rational mind reels at the idea that an unseen person could have so much control over a person's actions merely by insisting he has the authority to do so. Thus is the brilliance of the film's script, which is based almost identically on the actual incident, thereby illustrating exactly how such a thing could happen. The answer? The rational mind is not present; the people involved in the incident were stressed out from the busy night at the restaurant, or confused and scared about being falsely accused of a crime. In addition, the caller seemed to know all sorts of information about the girl and the restaurant, when in reality he was subtly digging for facts then presenting himself as knowledgeable on the subjects.
As for the ultimate culmination of the search, no rationalization seems possible. Even the greatest cynic likes to believe that people are not so gullible; there is no adequate excuse. As writer/director Craig Zobel has remarked, “It seemed implausible to me that this would be possible. I don't like to say people are stupid, so the film for me was retroactively saying, 'What part of human nature lets this happen?'”
Compliance
premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival amidst great controversy, with several people walking out during the screening due to the intense and disturbing nature of the subject matter. In addition, a shouting match broke out during the Q&A; one man interrupted Walker to yell, “Your body is pretty appealing!,” which encouraged other audience members to catcall towards the cast and director. Another woman yelled, “This is not the year to make violence against women entertaining.”
She is absolutely right – and entertaining this film is not. It is not a fun movie, something one would see for escapist purposes. However, it is a well-made and important movie. The woman is absolutely correct; when ridiculousness about “legitimate rape” and other such things are flying around, such subjects are not to be taken lightly.
Compliance
does not take it lightly. It serves as a cautionary tale, not only exploring the idea of submission to authority, but the very pertinent idea of gender roles in our society; perhaps we are not still as equal as we like to think we are.
Compliance
is currently showing at Village 8 Theaters as the newest installment in the Louisville Exclusives series. It is currently scheduled to run until this Thursday, September 13, but this may be extended. Village 8 is located at 4014 Dutchmans Lane. Further theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.
Images: Rotten Tomatoes