Sorry To Bother You
Dir. Boots Riley / Dur. 111 mins
In A Nutshell:- A young black man discovers his inner white voice to enable to scale the heights of the corporate telemarketing world.
The Good:- It’s certainly an unique film. It deals very heavily with the concepts of race relations, workers rights and how much we’re willing sacrifice and compromise our principles in the pursuit of the capitalist dream (highlighted nicely by the concept of WorryFree, a company which clothes and feeds you in return for signing yourself over to them in a form of modern day slavery) but does so with a strong sense of humour and outright absurdism that stops it from veering too far into the realm of the preachy; the scene in which two characters threaten each other in largely complimentary ways was a particular favourite. Lakeith Stanfield is a compelling presence as Cassius Green, ably assisted by David Cross in providing his “white voice”. The direction by Boots Riley has a nice sense of style to it, especially in the way in which Cassius is dropped (literally) with desk and all into the home environment of the people he cold calls. The films veers into unexpected territory later on but best you discover more about that yourself...
The Bad:- It’s a little bit uneven in places (the aforementioned veering feeling like quite a switchover into almost a different film) and there’s a lot going on but, overall, it manages to pull it all off.
The Verdict:- Boots Riley is definitely a talent to watch out for - there’s an energy and humour to the film, along with a nicely defined visual style, that carries it through any of the rougher edges. I’d be keen to see what he comes up with next.
Next Time:- We’re descending far further into the depths of the absolutely insane with a full-on smack in the face full of Nicolas Cage...
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