Compliance (2012)

As Sundance 2013 is taking place, I received a reminder yesterday that every year there is at least one film that through the excitement of a film festival, gets wildly overrated. That reminder came in a viewing of one of last year's festival darlings, Compliance.

I understand that the events in Compliance are based on a true story. The problem is that Compliance does it in a tone that thoroughly failed to convince me. Is it the overinsistant music score? Partially. Was it the a couple of glaring continuity errors? Actually, one they came to mind, I was already disconnected from the film.

The continuity errors? During a winter dinner rush, the film heads out to the parking lot. Its daylight, and the parking lot is mostly empty. First of all, winter dinner rush in Ohio, where the film is set and I happen to live, it is dark at that time of night. Second, when a restaurant is full, a parking lot is usually not empty.

That brings me to the main problem of the film. Throughout the film, there are images which clearly are meant to point out how horrible fast food is. I could feel the condescension through the screen. For a movie of this topic to work, the film needs to indict society, needs to make us feel we would do what the characters did. I felt the filmmakers looking down on the characters, so I could not connect with the characters, so I just felt uncomfortable, but not enlightened.

The film is well acted. But by the end, all I felt was, what was the point of that?

Grade: C-