Just do it.
Three simple words made famous by Nike, but more or the less the mantra of authority across the world. From bosses to parents, siblings to spouses, countless times in our lives we are expected to act simply because we're told to. Often we fear what will happen if we don't do as instructed. But, as history has told us time and time again, the real duduk perkara doesn't stem from us questioning authority, but from not questioning in enough.
Inspired by true events, Compliance tells the gut-wrenching story of decidedly normal people simply following orders. And while that may sound boring and monotonous, the film is anything but (though, the same awful thing seems to happen over and over).
Set in the awful yet ideal location of a fast-food restaurant on a Friday night, things begin in tragic fashion. Somebody left the freezer door open the night before, resulting in a $1500 mistake. Translation: they're out of bacon.
While that seems laughable at first, it's one of the reasons that things escalate as far as they do. See, when something bad happens, even those not involved inherently feel guilty and do their best to make up for it. And when the police call regarding the unscrupulous actions of a young, female employee, everyone is quick to pitch in and help. Too quick, in fact.
I really don't want to say anymore, as I think that the less you know the better (or, um, worse) the experience will be. Even knowing essentially the entire story beforehand did little to soften what I saw play out before me. It will shock you. It will anger you. And then...it will get worse.
All that said, there is an intelligent discussion to be had after this one (if only my wife had made it past the five-minute mark), and please feel free to start one in the comments below. If you haven't seen Compliance and plan to do so (it's streaming on Netflix) you should probably duck out of here now. It's a touch watch, sure, but it's also pretty short, too.
Like a high-caloric meal at Chickwich, the Yays and Boos may go down easy, but you sure as shit don't want to see how they're made. Trust me, you don't want to see what's going on in the kitchen.
Three simple words made famous by Nike, but more or the less the mantra of authority across the world. From bosses to parents, siblings to spouses, countless times in our lives we are expected to act simply because we're told to. Often we fear what will happen if we don't do as instructed. But, as history has told us time and time again, the real duduk perkara doesn't stem from us questioning authority, but from not questioning in enough.
Set in the awful yet ideal location of a fast-food restaurant on a Friday night, things begin in tragic fashion. Somebody left the freezer door open the night before, resulting in a $1500 mistake. Translation: they're out of bacon.
While that seems laughable at first, it's one of the reasons that things escalate as far as they do. See, when something bad happens, even those not involved inherently feel guilty and do their best to make up for it. And when the police call regarding the unscrupulous actions of a young, female employee, everyone is quick to pitch in and help. Too quick, in fact.
I really don't want to say anymore, as I think that the less you know the better (or, um, worse) the experience will be. Even knowing essentially the entire story beforehand did little to soften what I saw play out before me. It will shock you. It will anger you. And then...it will get worse.
All that said, there is an intelligent discussion to be had after this one (if only my wife had made it past the five-minute mark), and please feel free to start one in the comments below. If you haven't seen Compliance and plan to do so (it's streaming on Netflix) you should probably duck out of here now. It's a touch watch, sure, but it's also pretty short, too.
Like a high-caloric meal at Chickwich, the Yays and Boos may go down easy, but you sure as shit don't want to see how they're made. Trust me, you don't want to see what's going on in the kitchen.
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| What he did to her, is likely being done to him. In prison. |
Yaaaaaaaaaay!
- Man, meat delivery guy (like, that's his actual job) was pretty hardcore. You're f--ked without bacon. Damn, dude.
- I think anyone who has ever had an older boss can relate to that sad moment when they try to fit in.
- Speaking of Sandra (the manager), she's quite the slut, huh? I mean, sexts?
- Marti. Thank God this lady worked there. She had at least most of a brain. Sometimes.
- I also kind of liked the angry black girl at the registers. Sure, she was annoying for the most part, but you got the sense that she wouldn't have taken any of the shit that Becky did.
- Kevin, my man. This kid is a typical a-hole high school kid, who probably half-listens to whatever anyone says to him. Here? That's an admirable trait, to say the least. Yeah, well it's a f--ked procedure.
- Running out of minutes on your phone card. Haha, dickhead.
- Harold. It's a good thing they've got some special milkshake on the menu, because that's what brings back the only f--king sane person on the planet. This man gets pendekar status, simply for not being a thoughtless moron.
- I always love when someone on screen says exactly what I'm feeling. This happened before? You gotta be shitting me.
- And finally, as evil as it is, I almost enjoyed the moment when Sandra realizes she's a f--king idiot. I hate what Becky (and to an extent, some of the others) went through to get there, but when it all finally dawns on her, I (sadly) took a little joy out of that.
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| You're almost like a real cop. |
Boooooooooo!
- I'm going to be honest with you, Becky is kind of hot. This conflict of interest is a gigantic Boo.
- Secret shoppers. F--k those snitches.
- Sure, the guy on the phone is a psychotic f--k, but the one move he uses proven to piss people off more than anything? Telling someone who is calm to calm down.
- Sandra, the manager, seems to be given at least a half-dozen opportunities at redemption and she deep fries all of them. If you want a character to hate, here she is.
- But actually worse than Sandra, if that's possible? Is her f--khead fiancee, Van. This guy is the biggest piece of garbage ever. If only Officer Daniels had told him to jump off a f--king cliff.
- The reveal of Officer Daniels felt very odd, and lacked the impact that I expected. Maybe I just wanted it to be more dramatic and sinister, or maybe I wished I was making a sandwich, too.
- While we're at it, how about Officer Daniels' real job?
- How anybody didn't hang up the phone when they heard:
- What about her rear?
- How big are her nipples?
- Have her do jumping jacks.
- Yeah. Just lay the phone on her back.
- A spanking. No way that happened. Um...not to mention the other thing....
- And finally, humanity. We do some awful shit to each other, and I can deal with it somewhat when there is a reason. But this? This is simply inexcusable. I don't know what's worse, the idea of someone willfully ignoring their conscience, or someone who truly lacks one altogether. It's maddening either way.
5 Things I wrote in all caps while watching Compliance:
1. SANDRA YOU DUMB BITCH
2. DOES ANYONE HAVE A F--KING BRAIN?
3. JAIL. CHOOSE JAIL.
4. CALL YOUR PARENTS. F--K!
5. ALL WHILE PEOPLE ARE EATING AND WORKING.
I've often lamented on this blog how the whole inspired by true events hook bothers me. That phrase makes everything on screen more meaningful sure, but in an extremely shocking story, it also casts a thin layer of doubt over the many more perverse things that occurred. While I'm sure that much of what we are shown is accurate, there are a few things I want to know in particular. Sadly, most of those revolve around Van, and what transpired between him and Becky. Did he really do that to her? And holy shit, did she really so that to him? I'm sure the answers are out there, but I don't want to look it up. I want to know, but I don't really want to know. You know what? You do it. You find that out for me.
Because I said so, that's why.