Compliance

Written and directed by Craig Zobel, Compliance is the story about a prank caller who claims to be a police officer as he makes accusation to a fast-food manager whose cashier had stolen money. The film is based on a real-life incident that left many people in trouble and business reeling from the damage as the film focuses on the people ruined by this prank. Starring Dreama Walker, Ann Dowd, and Pat Healy. Compliance is a disturbing yet harrowing film from Craig Zobel.

The film takes place in the course of a very busy, tense day at a fast food restaurant where a cashier named Becky (Dreama Walker) is working on what was supposed to be her day off. Later that morning, her boss in Sandra (Ann Dowd) receives a call from a man (Pat Healey) claiming to be a police officer as he says that Becky had stolen money from a woman’s purse and she’s in trouble. Forced to listen to everything the officer says, Sandra had to take Becky in the back in which Becky had to strip her clothes to see if she’s carrying any money. Things eventually escalate as Sandra asks her fiancee Van (Bill Camp) to watch Becky as he is forced to listen to the man as things get far more disturbing. Even as it leads to these people asking questions about all of the things they’re being told to do.

Craig Zobel’s screenplay explores this real-life incident that led to countless lawsuits and people’s lives ruined by this incident as he creates it into this tense, dramatic story. Even as he chooses to focus on these individuals who are being played into a prank that eventually ruins them. There’s a young woman who is a good worker and hasn’t done any crimes who becomes a victim over these accusations as she’s forced to be stripped naked and wear an apron to cover herself as she waits for the police. Then there’s this manager who is being played for a fool as she’s listening to this man who is making claims about all of this. Though there’s questions about this manager on whether she’s really dumb or is just being manipulated on a very stressful day. She’s also a victim because of all of these things she’s been told to do.

Then there’s her fiancee as he comes in because one of the employees refuses to listen to what this man is telling him to do. He is just as reluctant where by the film’s second half, he is forced to listen to this man’s instructions as it would lead to moments that would disgust him. Yet, there’s questions about his own intelligence as well where one would wonder does he know what he’s being asked to do is wrong. Leading all of this is man who is essentially a sadistic individual who is in glee over ruining the lives of these people and manipulating them into doing what he wants. Even as he makes these exaggerated claims where there’s minor characters who would question about what is happening.

Zobel’s direction is entrancing in the way he captures the tension and suspense that occurs throughout the film. While it starts out as a calm, straightforward film where nothing happens early on in a very busy work day at a fast-food restaurant. That all changes once that phone call comes in where it becomes this very dark film that mostly takes place in a fast food restaurant. The camera is always wandering around where it doesn’t remain still but doesn’t delve into shaky camera movements. Even through these close-ups where it adds to the sense of discomfort that is happening. In the film’s second half, the culprit does get revealed where it is established that what this man is doing is a very disgusting prank.

Though things get more troubling by the third act, there’s some revelations that occur in the aftermath of the incident where it does sort of become a different film. Yet, it revolves around these discoveries and the people who were affected by this prank. Overall, Zobel creates a fascinating yet distressing film that explores the world of manipulation.

Cinematographer Adam Stone does excellent work with the film‘s photography from the colorful, sunny exteriors of the locations to the more ominous lighting schemes inside the store room where Becky is forced to stay throughout the film. Editor Jane Rizzo does wonderful work with the editing by creating some rhythmic, suspenseful cuts to play out the tension and the chaos that ensues at the restaurant. Production designer Matthew Munn, along with set decorator Tom McMillan and art director Michael Powsner, does nice work with the look of the fast-food restaurant as well as the claustrophobic yet tense store room where Becky has to be in.

Costume designer Karen Malecki does very good with the costumes from the uniforms many of the characters wear to the casual clothes that Van and the caller wear. Sound designer Rich Bologna does brilliant work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the fast-food restaurant along with the eerie scenes at the store room including the moment between Becky and Van. The film’s music by Heather McIntosh is superb for its brooding yet ethereal score that is filled with ominous string arrangements and chilling ambient textures.

The casting by Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee is terrific for the small ensemble that is created as it includes Ashlie Atkinson as Sandra’s assistant supervisor, Philip Ettinger as Becky’s friend/fellow employee Kevin, James McCaffrey as a detective in the film’s third act, and Stephen Payne as the custodian Harold whose presence would impact the film’s third act. Bill Camp is very good as Sandra’s fiancee Van who is forced to watch Becky under the caller’s instruction where he ends up doing things he didn’t want to do. Pat Healy is incredible as the very sadistic caller who manipulates everyone as he pretends to be a cop as he calls through a cell phone to do everything.

Dreama Walker is wonderful as Becky as she displays a sense of restraint as a young woman who has to deal with accusations and humiliation where it would eventually affect her as she tries to defend herself. Finally, there’s Ann Dowd in a brilliant performance as the fast-food manager Sandra as she brings a very captivating approach to a character who is unaware that she’s being fooled while being stressed out by what is happening at work.

Compliance is a mesmerizing yet eerie film from Craig Zobel that features top-notch performances from Dreama Walker and Ann Dowd. The film is really an unsettling drama that bears a lot of hallmarks that is expected in suspense and horror films. Notably as it reveals a lot of harsh truths about manipulation as well as the fact that incidents like this really happen. In the end, Craig Zobel’s Compliance is a terrifying yet engrossing film that will definitely leave the audience in shock over the actions that occur in this film.

Related: Z for Zachariah

© thevoid99 2012

Rescue Dawn

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/27/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Based on a true story about Dieter Dengler's escape from a Laos prison during the Vietnam War, Rescue Dawn is a dramatic version of a story that German filmmaker Werner Herzog made back in 1997 in a documentary entitled Little Dieter Needs to Fly about Dengler and his escape. Playing the role of Dieter Dengler is Christian Bale. Also starring Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. Rescue Dawn is a thrilling yet engrossing film from Werner Herzog.

It's 1965 at the Gulf of Tonkin as Dieter Dengler and a few pilots are to take part in a classified mission to bomb a secret bases in Laos. For Dieter, it's his first mission as a flight lieutenant as the German-born man has dreamed of flying ever since seeing planes bombing his German village up above back in World War II when he was a child. Just as he arrived into Laos for the bombing, Dieter's plane is suddenly hit and crashes as he wanders around into the jungle. Trying to evade Vietcong troops and Laotian farmers, Dieter eventually gets captured as he endures a series of tortures and such. After being interrogated, Dieter refuses to sign a document that would've guaranteed his freedom as he's sent into a prison in the middle of the jungle.

He meets six prisoners from Air America that included Duane Martin (Steve Zahn), Eugene DeBruin (Jeremy Davies) and four Thai prisoners. After enduring months of imprisonment, Dieter plans an escape but Duane and Eugene tell him that outside the prison is the jungle that's a prison in itself. Despite the harsh times he stayed in the prison, he befriends Duane while making his plans slowly to try and escape. Finally, with the rain season starting to come, Dieter and his fellow prisoners prepare for their escape as they immediately succeed. With Eugene and the Thai prisoners splitting up to escape, Dieter and Duane make their way to the treacherous jungle as they battle a physical, mental, and emotional journey against the harsh world of nature. Yet, Dieter's optimism would be the catalyst for the journey as he hopes to come home.

While most films about the Vietnam War were often filled with grim themes and subject matters that were always cynical. A film like Rescue Dawn proved to be different since it's the story of an individual and his experience as a prisoner-of-war and his escape. For Werner Herzog, it's not a war film but a tribute to a friend whom he profiled back in 1997 for the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. While he made dramatic changes for the story, Herzog is really paying tribute to a man whose lack of views about the war is overshadowed by his innocence and optimism that is rarely seen in a lot of war films.

The script by Herzog is told very simply with the first act being about Dieter's plane crash and his journey to prison with the second act being about his imprisonment and eventual escape. The third act is really about Dieter and Duane escaping through the treacherous jungle that becomes a part of Herzog's continuing theme of man vs. nature. While some audiences, particularly Herzog's more art-house film crowd, might complain about the film's ending which was dramatized. The ending works in ways for Herzog to pay tribute to Dengler, who died in 2001, by celebrating him as this great man whose optimism proved to be inspirational. Particularly in a war like the Vietnam War that was always filled with cynicism and unpopular.

The film isn't about the Vietnam War but a man maintaining this sense of optimism and hope in a moment that is harsh and cruel. Through his direction, Herzog goes deep into the jungles of Thailand and all of its landscape including treacherous rivers filled with snakes and such. Still, Herzog is willing to walk into the snake-infested rivers that are also filled with leeches to tell the story. More importantly, Herzog like his main actors was willing to shed pounds for the project in order to gain their trust. Through his observant camera and unconventional style, the film has a bit of cinema verite in conveying the action and drama of the film as if he makes it up along the way just for the story. Overall, Werner Herzog's work in both the writing and directing is his strongest feature-film work to date since 1982's Fitzcarraldo with Klaus Kinski.

Cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger does some amazing, evocative camera work to convey the beauty of the Thailand jungle with little style for a more documentary-like feel that is beautiful. Zeitlinger also uses a lot of hand-held camera for the action and dramatic sequences to maintain the verite style as he and his camera operator would go deep into the rivers and in the rain for the action of what is to come. Editor Joe Bini is superb for its meditative, elliptical style, even in the film's second act to convey the sense of boredom that goes on while a lot of the cutting in the film's plane crash in the first act doesn't fall into traditional, action-film style edits. Bini also uses stock footage from the original Laos bombing to open the film that works to convey when the film is taking place.

Art director Arin "Aoi" Pinijvararak and set decorator Peter Mayer do great work in creating the bamboo prison that Dengler and his fellow prisoners were staying including the houses and such. Costume designer Annie Dunn does great work in creating the look of fighter-pilot clothing as well as their decayed look throughout the entire film. Sound editor Peter Austin does some great work for the film's sound to convey the sense of violence in some scenes as well as the atmosphere of the jungle throughout the film. Music composer Klaus Badelt brings a contemplative, subtle score led by piano to convey the film’s drama without any kind of dramatic arrangements and such for the entire film until the end as Badlet's score is very memorable through and through.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled with Abhijati "Meuk" Jusakul and Lek Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat as Dengler's fellow Thai prisoners, Francois Chau as the interrogator before Dengler's sent to prison, and as the prison guards, Teerawat Mulvilai, Mr. Yuttana Muenwaja, Mr. Kriangsak Ming-olo, and Somkuan "Kuan" Siroon as the quirky yet violent guards who each have a distinctive personality. Other notable small performances from GQ, Pat Healy, and Toby Huss are great as Dengler's fellow pilots while character actors Zach Grenier and Marshall Bell play Dengler's superiors. Jeremy Davies gives a phenomenal performance as the creepy yet cautious Eugene DeBruin who is hoping for the Americans to save him while not wanting to risk himself into the jungle. Davies' performance is superb for being a cynical, antagonist-of-sorts to Bale's unwavering optimism.

Steve Zahn delivers what has to be one of his best performances to date as Duane Martin. Zahn, known to many for his comedic performances, does bring a bit of humor to his character but his range as a dramatic actor is indeed a revelation. Notably for a man who no longer could take his imprisonment and becomes Dengler's friend in this horrific experience as Zahn captures his despair in the jungles as represents the struggles that soldiers go through as prisoners-of-war. Christian Bale delivers another solid performance that is no doubt inspiring as the late Dieter Dengler. While sporting a North American accent instead of a heavy, German-American accent, Bale proves his range as an innocent, optimistic fighter pilot who isn't wanting to give up. Bale, who is often criticized for his lack of humor, brings some humor to the character while his eerie performance as well as his look shows that he's an actor willing to take risks into any character he plays. It's a performance that will hopefully, won’t be overlooked by the end of the year.

Rescue Dawn is a sobering yet inspiring from Werner Herzog helmed by Christian Bale's exhilarating performance. With a great supporting cast, haunting imagery and locations, it's a film that fans of Herzog will enjoy. While the film would make a great companion piece to Herzog's 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. While it doesn't come close to Herzog's other feature-film classics like Aguirre, the Wrath of God or Fitzcarraldo, Rescue Dawn proves to an unforgettable film that shows that even through dark times and the treacherous jungles that there is hope. For a film that is inspiring and filled with hope, Rescue Dawn is the film to go see.

Werner Herzog Films: Feature Films: (Signs of Life) - (Even the Dwarfs Started Small) - (Fatana Morgana) - Aguirre, the Wrath of God - - (The Enigma of Kasper Hauer) - (Heart of Glass) - Stroszek - Nosferatu, the Vampyre - Woyzeck - Fitzcarraldo - (Where the Green Ants Dream) - Cobra Verde - (Scream of Stone) - (Lessons of Darkness) - (Invincible (2001 film)) - (The Wild Blue Yonder) - (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) - (My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?) - Queen of the Desert

Documentaries: (The Flying Doctors of East Africa) - (Handicapped Future) - (Land of Silence and Darkness) - (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner) - (How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck) - (La Soufrière) - (Huie's Sermon) - (God's Angry Man) - (Ballad of the Little Soldier) - (The Dark Glow of the Mountains) - (Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun) - (Echoes from a Somber Empire) - (Jag Mandir) - (Bells from the Deep) - (The Transformation of the World into Music) - (Death for Five Voices) - (Little Dieter Needs to Fly) - My Best Fiend - - (Wings of Hope) - (Pilgrimage) - (Ten Thousand Years Older) - (Wheel of Time) - (The White Diamond) - Grizzly Man - Encounters at the End of the World - Cave of Forgotten Dreams - (Into the Abyss) - (On Death Row) - From One Second to the Next

© thevoid99 2012