''Compliance'' is a 2012 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written and directed by

Craig Zobel Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films '' Compliance'' (2012), ''Z for Zachariah'' (2015), and '' The Hunt'' (2020). On TV he has directed episodes of ...

and starring

Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate' ...

Dreama Walker Dreama Elyse Walker (born June 20, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for her supporting role in the series ''Gossip Girl'', her lead role in the film '' Compliance'' (2012), and her lead roles in two short-lived television series, the c ...

Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to: * Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager * Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director * Pat H ...

, and

Bill Camp Bill Camp (born 1963/1964) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in many films such as ''Lincoln'' (2012), ''Compliance'' (2012), '' 12 Years a Slave'' (2013), '' Love & Mercy'' (2015), ''Loving'' (2016), ''Molly's Game'' (2017), ...

. The plot of the movie is closely based upon an actual strip search phone call scam that took place in

Mount Washington, Kentucky Mount Washington is a home rule-class city in northeast Bullitt County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 18,090 at the 2020 census. The city is one of several surrounding Louisville that have experienced a sharp rise in populat ...

in 2004. In both the film and the real-life incident, a caller posing as a police officer convinced a restaurant manager and others to carry out unlawful and intrusive procedures on an innocent employee. ''Compliance'' had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2012 and was distributed by

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...

for its general release on August 17, 2012. Dowd's performance as Sandra, the manager, won the

National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the annual film awards given (since 1954) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. Winners 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Mult ...

Plot

Sandra, manager of a ChickWich fast food restaurant, receives a call from someone identifying himself as Officer Daniels. He claims to be in contact with the regional manager about a customer who had money allegedly stolen by an employee that day. Daniels says that he will remain on the phone while Sandra detains the employee until the police arrive. Sandra identifies Becky as the suspect based on the description; Daniels confirms the name. Sandra brings Becky to the restaurant office. Becky denies the theft. At Daniels' behest, Sandra searches Becky's pockets and purse and finds nothing. Telling her that the alternative is to have Becky go to jail, Daniels has her strip-search Becky in the presence of another employee, Marti. Daniels tells Sandra that he and other officers are searching Becky's home on suspicion that her brother is involved in drugs, and that Becky may be involved. He has Sandra put Becky's clothes into a bag and take it to her car for inspection by the police. Sandra insists she resume managing the restaurant as it is busy. After Daniels stipulates that a male employee watch Becky for "security reasons", another employee, Kevin, is brought in, but questions Daniels' instructions and leaves. Sandra's fiancé Van takes over; under pressure from Daniels over the beers he drank before driving to the restaurant, he has Becky perform nude jumping jacks, ostensibly to shake loose any contraband concealed in her body. After Becky protests, Daniels has Van spank her. Eventually, Becky is coerced into performing oral sex on Van. Van leaves with guilt and is replaced by the custodian, Harold, who is outraged by Daniels' instructions. Harold tells Sandra about Daniels' orders; she calls the regional manager, who tells her he has no idea about any investigation. The police discover that a similar incident happened elsewhere. Daniels is identified by closed circuit recordings and arrested; he is a family man working as a telemarketer. Becky meets an attorney to discuss options for suing Sandra. Sandra, now unemployed and no longer seeing Van, tells a journalist she is a blameless victim.

Cast

as Sandra Frum *

as Becky *

as The Caller ("Officer Daniels") *

as Van *

Philip Ettinger Philip Ettinger is an American actor who first gained attention for his supporting role as the troubled environmental activist, Michael, in Paul Schrader's '' First Reformed'' (2017). Other significant roles have been as Garrett Drimmer in the C ...

as Kevin * James McCaffrey as Detective Neals *

Ashlie Atkinson Ashley Elizabeth Atkinson (born August 6, 1977), known professionally as Ashlie Atkinson, is an American character actress who works in movies and television (with over 90 credits) – as well as in theater. Atkinson is known for her work as Ace o ...

as Marti * Stephen Payne as Harold

Release

''Compliance''

premiered A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

in January. The film received a limited release in the United States beginning August 17, 2012. It was released by Soda Pictures in the UK and Ireland on March 22, 2013.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews and Dowd's performance as the manipulated restaurant manager was met with critical acclaim, earning her the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports an 89% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10 based on 140 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Anchored by smart, sensitive direction and strong performances, ''Compliance'' is a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that's equal parts gripping and disturbing." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a score of 68 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At the premiere at the

, ''Compliance'' was met with controversy, as the audience's response included several walkouts and shouting matches during the film's question and answer session.

References

External links