X
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
Summary Becky and Sandra aren’t the best of friends. Sandra is a middle-aged manager at a fast-food restaurant; Becky is a teenaged counter girl who really needs the job. One stressful day (too many customers and too little bacon), a police officer calls, accusing Becky of stealing money from a customer’s purse, which she vehemently denies. Sand...
Directed By: Craig Zobel
Written By: Craig Zobel
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 30 m
Compliance
68
6.3
Where to Watch
Summary Becky and Sandra aren’t the best of friends. Sandra is a middle-aged manager at a fast-food restaurant; Becky is a teenaged counter girl who really needs the job. One stressful day (too many customers and too little bacon), a police officer calls, accusing Becky of stealing money from a customer’s purse, which she vehemently denies. Sand...
Directed By: Craig Zobel
Written By: Craig Zobel
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
68
81% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
13% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
68
81% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
13% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
The actors in Compliance perform with thorough and chilling sincerity.
A slow-motion punch to the groin. As such, it's fitting that one of our first sights is a large "NO" stenciled in the parking lot of a fast-food joint in suburban Ohio: as the film progresses, the word becomes a silent mantra for viewers who can't quite believe what they're seeing.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 85 User Ratings
6.3
64% Positive
54 Ratings
54 Ratings
19% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
18% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 85 User Ratings
6.3
64% Positive
54 Ratings
54 Ratings
19% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
18% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is one of those films that stays with you a while after watching. It is very thought provoking and you just can't believe what you are seeing at times. If this film hadn't been based off true events, I would have not enjoyed it as much, because you feel that the events that take place can't possibly happen in real life, but the shocking fact is they did happen and this film has not been exaggerated!
Side note: you can't help but enjoy those boobies!
Report
The subject matter is unrelentingly sordid yet the storytelling is so deadpan and understated that it's difficult, if not impossible, to dismiss it as exploitation or sexist provocation.
Likely to spur discussions about workplace safety, employee rights and broader awareness of sexual predation, Compliance is also a suspenseful psychological drama for viewers prepared to tolerate its extremes.
Some films are harder to watch than others - not because they're bad, which makes for a different sort of painful viewing, but because they touch on areas of such profound moral discomfort that the mere act of watching makes us feel complicit. We feel like gutless witnesses to a crime. And that's what makes Compliance such a hard thing to stomach.
Director Craig Zobel's indie, based on real cases, has a sharp psychological point and a can't-look-away quality even as it turns horrifically dark.
This nasty little bottom-feeder of a film is too condescending to be trusted, too manipulative to be believed, too turgid to be enjoyed, too shameless to be endured and, before and after everything else, too inept to make its misanthropic case.
Before you immediately write the characters off as "stupid" and view them as faceless teenagers mirroring those in a horror movie, where every decision is questionable, what would you do? Would you have been smarter? Would you not have been distracted by the abundance of customers waiting in line and the short of employees behind the counter? Oh, how easy it would've been to just comply with authority and not risk jeopardizing your business's reputation or employees. Sandra clearly just wants to obey authority and get things sorted out as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Before criticizing her, I can not say that I blame her or I would've done any differently.
Report
"Compliance" 10 Scale Rating: 6.0 (Decent) ...
The Good: It gets off to a rough start, but becomes somewhat interesting as you get deeper into the film. The fact that this is based on a true story is fascinating because otherwise it would seem impossible. Ann Dowd got a little recognition for her part in the film and she deserved it. In a sea of bad acting, she was the lone beacon.
The Bad: The rest of the cast was pretty much terrible and really brought the film down. While I know that it was based on a true story I couldn't help but sit here and say "How stupid are these people?!?!" ...
Report
I am beyond baffled as to why this film is getting any sort of praise. The fact that it is based on actual events is it's only saving grace given the fact that almost everything in this is movie dreadful. A nude teen doing jumping jacks in the back of a fast food chain doesn't make for a intriguing plot, it actually discredits any validity the film was barely hanging onto. Disappointing and weak to say the least..
Report
Production Company
Bad Cop Bad Cop Film Productions,
Dogfish Pictures,
Muskat Filmed Properties
Release Date Aug 17, 2012
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating R
Tagline How far would you go?
Awards
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
• 3 Nominations
National Board of Review, USA
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
St. Louis Film Critics Association, US
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
