Compliance (2012)
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A fast-food manager is manipulated by a fraudulent caller posing as a police officer into performing illegal acts on an employee.
The story
Sandra, the manager of a ChickWich fast food restaurant, receives a phone call from a man identifying himself as Officer Daniels. He claims to be investigating a theft involving an employee and demands that Sandra detain the employee, identified as Becky, until the police arrive. The film follows the escalating tension as Sandra, under the guise of following official orders from the caller, begins to carry out increasingly intrusive and unlawful procedures on Becky while the caller remains on the line. The narrative explores the psychological pressure of authority and the consequences of compliance in a high-stakes, tense environment.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Sandra, manager of a ChickWich fast food restaurant, receives a call from a man claiming to be Officer Daniels. He alleges an employee, Becky, stole money and demands Sandra detain her. Under the caller's instructions, Sandra conducts a search of Becky's belongings and eventually performs a strip-search in front of another employee, Marti. The caller then instructs Sandra to have Becky's clothes bagged and taken to her car. As the restaurant remains busy, the caller demands that a male employee, Van, supervise Becky. Van, under pressure from the caller regarding his own actions, forces Becky to perform nude jumping jacks and eventually perform oral sex on him. After Van leaves, the custodian, Harold, refuses to follow the caller's orders and alerts Sandra. She calls the regional manager, who reveals no such investigation exists. The police later identify the caller as a telemarketer and arrest him. Becky seeks legal counsel, while Sandra, now unemployed and estranged from Van, claims to be a blameless victim to the press.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Craig Zobel
- Writers
- Craig Zobel · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ann Dowd · Sandra Frum; Dreama Walker · Becky; Pat Healy · The Caller / "Officer Daniels"; Bill Camp · Van
- Genres
- thriller
- Themes
- authority; compliance; human tendency to cave in to authority
- Tone and mood
- gripping; disturbing
- Premise and plot tags
- based on actual events; fraud; law enforcement; sexual abuse
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on the 2004 strip search phone call scams in Mount Washington, Kentucky.
- Content notes
- sexual abuse
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews, with praise specifically for Ann Dowd's performance. It was noted for being an effective exploration of the human tendency to cave in to authority, leading to audience walkouts during its premiere.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · scale: percentage · review count: 140; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.5/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 140; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 32
- Awards and nominations
- National Board of Review Award · Best Supporting Actress · win
- Production trivia
- The character of Sandra was inspired by Donna Summers.; The character of Becky was inspired by Louise Ogborn.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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