Welcome one and all to part 17 of my weekly blog, The 52 In 52. The premise is pretty simple, I have a large collection of DVDs and Blu Rays and a lot of them sit on the shelf gathering dust. This year I vowed to pick one at random, watch and review it. Last week I watched Hell Fest, a modern slasher.
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This week I watched Sorry To Bother You, the story of Cassius Green who is struggling to make his way in the world. Cassius begins working as a telemarketer and on the advice of a colleague adopts a "white" voice with amazing results. This leads to an absurd chain of events that affects Cassius and all around him in every way. Sorry To Bother You was written and directed by first time director Boots Riley, who is largely known for being a member of The Coup.
Sorry To Bother You is by far one of the best films I have watched in the past 5 years. On the surface the story seems a little mundane, a down on his luck telemarketer who makes it big but, it is far more than that. There are so many elements at work in the story. There are aspects of science fiction throughout, the whole story taking place in an alternative reality, that are intensified in the third act. The dark humour is subtle and really balances well with the more dramatic elements of the story. The risk of a science fiction film is that the futurism is overdone and unnecessary but, with Sorry To Bother You it fits in with the story perfectly.
The real driving force of the film are the performances of Lakeith Stanfield (Cassius) and Tessa Thompson (Detroit). Stanfield further proves how great an actor he is, balancing a dramatic performance full of anger and outrage with an absurd almost slapstick comedic performance. Tessa Thompson is transformed on screen, barely recognisable as Detroit and Cassius's moral compass. Armie Hammer is slimy and completely unlikable as Steve Lift. I would have liked to have seen more from Steven Yeun (Squeeze) and Jermaine Fowler (Salvador) as they are largely moved into the background in the second act.
I loved the way that the initial interactions between Cassius and his perspective customers were shown in the film where his desk is transplanted into their lives and shows the real invasion of their privacy. I really loved the montage scene that happens after Cassius finds success at work and begins to reap the reward. His new life literally unfolds on the screen and is a really creative way to show this.
The third act of the film unfolds in a way that I'm sure that very few people could predict and whilst this could derail a film I felt that it fit perfectly with the rest of the film. The character design is equal parts bizarre and terrifying and something that should look ridiculous has a different reaction entirely. I really enjoyed the twists and turns that happen in the story right until the final scene.
Overall Sorry To Bother You is a fantastic mix of political statement, science fiction and dark comedy and because of this is not easily pigeonholed. There are some strong acting performances throughout and an equally strong story.
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