"BRILLIANT. The movie is driven by an urgent moral inquiry, yet it has the mesmerizing detail and humor of a very idiosyncratic fiction."
"CHILLINGLY BRILLIANT. Easily the highlight of Sundance so far."
"4 STARS. Infuriating and important."
"4 STARS - A POWDER KEG. The movie's frightening momentum can't be denied. YOU CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU’RE WATCHING."
"INDISPENSABLE FILMMAKING. Hang on. You’re in for a bumpy ride."
"COMPLIANCE STUCK WITH ME, CHALLENGED ME AND CHANGED MY MOOD IN A WAY MOST FILMS DON'T. The more I thought about it, the more impressed I found myself with the mastery of tension and tone writer-director Craig Zobel displayed. THE RARE FILM THAT'S CAUSED ME TO DO A TOTAL 180 ON HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT."
"SUPERB - A MUST-SEE. RIVETING, UNFORGETABLE VIEWING. Psychologically astute and brilliantly executed, this drama-thriller is the best sort of provocation: one that cuts to the heart of difficult ethical questions about the nature of power, but does so with enormous empathy, smarts and skill."
"GRADE A-. Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker are terrific."
"POTENT FILMMAKING THAT’S NOT EASILY FORGOTTEN."
"****"
"You'll be screaming about ONE OF THE MOST AUDACIOUS MOVIES OF 2012 — and that's exactly why the film is so brilliant. I would go as far as to say that the film steps into Psycho terrain."
"IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A FILM THAT SHOVES YOU WAY OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, THIS ONE WILL DO THE TRICK. It burrows into your brain and keeps burrowing, the longer you watch.” "
"TAUT, GRIPPING and deeply disturbing. With expert performances and carefully researched material, this is intelligent filmmaking that handles its risky subject matter with taste and discipline."
"The feeling you get from it is that almost nothing is taken for granted, that new models of storytelling and expression are in the process of being invented."
"Inspired both by a bizarre true story of a prank caller who targeted the employees of rural fast-food restaurants and by the famous Milgram experiment, its tightrope balance between squirm fest and morality play would not have been possible without a performance as bold and incisive as the one the veteran character actress Ann Dowd delivers as Sandra."
"THE MOST GET-UNDER-YOUR-SKIN MOVIE OF THE YEAR."
"A FINE, BRACING AND THOUGHTFUL PICTURE."
"EASILY THE SUMMER'S MOST EXPERT PIECE OF PROVOCATION."
"A suspenseful psychological drama, eerily attuned to current cultural issues."
"SIGNIFICANT. It cements Craig Zobel's place as a serious filmmaker with an important voice. It dares to look into the flawed heart of most human beings and find them wanting, a message that offers no easy antidote."
"The cast here is so terrific"
"Deeply, viscerally unnerving. A disturbing, unflinching exploration of the dark side of mankind’s deference to authority."
"COMPLIANCE MIGHT BE THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR. ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL."
"GRADE A. UTTERLY CAPTIVATING. Pitch-perfect, often brilliant."
"Powerfully divisive. a thought-provoking look at the incapacitating effects of authority’s fear-inducing influence."
"BRILLIANT. One of the most audacious movies of 2012. It builds up a sense of ever-impending terror - I would go as far as to say that the film steps into Psycho terrain."
"Shattering. A fascinating film."
"Well made, especially potent. Brutal but important."
"Severely affecting. An almost endlessly fascinating study of human behavior."
"REMARKABLY TENSE, with a terrific ensemble of actors."
Inspired by true events, COMPLIANCE tells the chilling story of just how far one might go to obey a figure of authority. On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food joint, high-strung manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee, a pretty young blonde named Becky (Dreama Walker), has stolen money from a customer. Convinced she’s only doing what’s right, Sandra commences the investigation, following step-by-step instructions from the officer at the other end of the line, no matter how invasive they become.
Cast:
Ann Dowd
Dreama Walker
Pat Healy
Bill Camp
Director:
Craig Zobel