Compliance

Monday 25th March 2013

Director: Craig Zobel
Year: 2012
Stars: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp

This was my second experience of baby cinema; this time, at the Watershed in Bristol. Once again, Joe was mostly lovely - playing quietly for the first half, and sleeping for the second half. Which he should be given some credit for as he was about to get the worst, stinkiest cold he had ever had.

Which also means he's due more credit than this movie. I can't deny that it's memorable, but it's also stifling (to be fair, it's meant to be), depressing and a very, very odd choice for a movie to show at a baby screening where all the mums want something to cheer them up a little (I would imagine anyway - I did)! Compliance is all about how we react to authority figures, doing whatever they tell us to just because they say they're authoritative. In this case, it's how a 19-year old female is treated when somebody claiming to be a detective rings up to say she's stolen from a customer. In case you can't guess, she's not treated well...

The idea is interesting, and even the story itself, whilst tough, is intriguing. But somehow the movie makes it all feel a bit too much like hard work. Maybe it is partly because I was there with a 7 month old baby, but I can't really think of a situation in which I would have enjoyed watching this.

 Rating: 2 out of 5