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COMPLIANCEMovie Reviews
Drama about a fast food restaurant manager convinced by a prank caller to interrogate a young female employee for an alleged theft. Cast:Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp, Philip Ettinger, James McCaffreyDirector:Craig ZobelRelease Date:August 17, 2012DVD Release:January 8, 2013From:MagnoliaRating:RLength:1 hr. 30 min.
Compliance played in key cities to very good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • James Berardinelli wrote for Reel Views, "...a condemnation of human nature.... powerful and unspeakably sad. It's not an easy movie to watch but it will stay with you long after the images have faded..." • And Peter Travers wrote in Rolling Stone, "...potent and provocative..." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: EXCELLENT "...an ordeal for those watching no less than those performing.... dares spectators to stick around and, implicitly, become accessories to the crime.... riveting, repelling..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,064 words, 08/17/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Do you want to look away now? How about now? Will you walk out? Some did when the film screened at Sundance, while others exploded with anger or excitement."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 244 words, 08/10/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...potent and provocative... will haunt you long after you leave the theater. You can't shake 'Compliance'... Hang on. You're in for a bumpy ride."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 171 words, 08/17/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...based on an actual 2004 event.... This is a well-made film, with plausible performances by all the leads, especially Ann Dowd. We feel we know people like this."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 720 words, 08/31/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "A better artist would make the viewer more curious about the characters and their actions than about the artist's attitude toward them."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 682 words, 08/20/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a condemnation of human nature.... powerful and unspeakably sad. It's not an easy movie to watch but it will stay with you long after the images have faded..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 956 words, 08/16/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...squirmy... slithers rapidly from uncomfortable to unspeakable. And inasmuch as this level of sordidness can be handled tastefully, Mr. Zobel succeeds..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 405 words, 08/17/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "In a riveting performance, Ann Dowd creates a figure as recognizable as her actions are appalling... 'Compliance' is potent filmmaking that's not easily forgotten."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 08/24/12
Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The actors perform with thorough and chilling sincerity. To paraphrase Jean Renoir's most famous line, the workers have their reasons."(See all of Farran Smith Nehme's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 08/17/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...maintains a relentlessly tight focus.... a small film, slightly padded.... But it's serious work as well as a nasty bit of goods. It speaks to something in us..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 08/31/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "One reason 'Compliance' is so powerful is that you can empathize with every character -- a feeling that may trouble you long after it's over."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 08/31/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...based on an actual 2004 event.... This is a well-made film, with plausible performances by all the leads, especially Ann Dowd. We feel we know people like this."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 720 words, 08/31/12
Steven Erickson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...lets neither men nor women off the hook.... We'd all like to think we'd say no to tyranny; 'Compliance' shows how hard it is to tell authority figures to fuck off."(See all of Steven Erickson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 08/15/12
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "Craig Zobel's message -- that if we aren't prepared to question authority, we risk losing our dignity as human beings -- could not be more timely."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 453 words, 08/10/12
Adam Litovitz, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...develops an intriguing premise intelligently, inquisitively and uncomfortably.... the film wonders at the cost exacted by complying with our so-called authorities."(See all of Adam Litovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 556 words, 08/03/12
Kiva Reardon, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a tightly wound thriller.... Walker and Dowd's performances ground the film in a complex moral ambiguity that is wisely never fully resolved."(See all of Kiva Reardon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 08/09/12
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...an extraordinarily assured, well-made drama.... But it also fails its first test, which is that the audience believe every word of it."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 08/24/12
Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A taut, understated minimalist masterwork... proves that true horror isn't physical... it shows that everyone, each and every one of us, is more than capable of perpetrating it."(See all of Tirdad Derakhshani's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 512 words, 08/24/12
Jim Brunzell III, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Craig Zobel's masterful direction and screenplay heighten the distress of authority figures possessing unseen persuasion over naive employees..."(See all of Jim Brunzell III's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 96 words, 08/31/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...will make you wince, squirm, maybe even shout... a film that does what so few do: It makes you think. And that's invaluable."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 746 words, 09/07/12
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "People do stupid things all the time... but there is a level of stupidity displayed by the people in this movie that beggars belief."(See all of Mark Feeney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 749 words, 08/24/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "We feel like gutless witnesses to a crime... 'Compliance' forces us to consider the horror at the heart of simply going along."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 08/24/12
Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...extraordinarily powerful... a greater horror comes when one realizes that, placed in the same kind of situation, one might react in the same way."(See all of Soren Andersen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 326 words, 08/24/12
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...sneaks up on you nauseatingly... Craig Zobel is less interested in the perverse motive behind the crime than the slow descent of the victims into its twisted logic."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 09/21/12
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Zobel's unsparing approach is justified. This film should be hard to watch - and it is. But it's also hard to forget."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 08/31/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR(cg) "The words 'inspired by true events' fill the screen in enormous type at the start of the film... I still call bunk.... None of the characters seem remotely realistic..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 401 words, 09/21/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Steven Erickson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...lets neither men nor women off the hook.... We'd all like to think we'd say no to tyranny; 'Compliance' shows how hard it is to tell authority figures to fuck off."(See all of Steven Erickson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 08/15/12
Sean O'Connell, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) " 'How far would you let a strange situation go before putting a stop to it?'... The story's too goofy to be true, except that 'Compliance' draws from actual events."(See all of Sean O'Connell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 545 words, 08/16/12
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Just when you might want to bolt the theater, so angered by the hatefulness on screen, 'Compliance' calms down and makes philosophical sense."(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 124 words, 08/23/12
Noel Murray, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the movie follows a very straight, matter-of-fact path... the cast here is so terrific that they turn a movie that takes place almost entirely in one dingy room into rich theater..."(See all of Noel Murray's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 328 words, 01/25/12
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...might recall 'Rear Window' or 'Blue Velvet' or maybe the 'Saws,' in that its focus is less the story unfolding before you than the framing of the story..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,159 words, 08/20/12
Andrew Schenker, Slant: POOR(cg) "...a sadistic exercise in deliberate, relentless unpleasantness... to what purpose does writer-director Craig Zobel put the audience through their squirm-inducing paces?"(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 920 words, 08/12/12
Kiva Reardon, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a tightly wound thriller.... Walker and Dowd's performances ground the film in a complex moral ambiguity that is wisely never fully resolved."(See all of Kiva Reardon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 08/09/12
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the story could be such an anomalous event, with such dark implications for human nature, that no fictionalized re-creation could do it justice."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 08/24/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...a nasty little bottom-feeder of a film... too inept to make its misanthropic case... depicts its working-class characters with almost palpable scorn..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 08/24/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...squirmy... slithers rapidly from uncomfortable to unspeakable. And inasmuch as this level of sordidness can be handled tastefully, Mr. Zobel succeeds..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 405 words, 08/17/12
David Denby, New Yorker: OUTSTANDING "...brilliant.... Zobel and his actors and crew have discovered something cold and lewd in the human heart and have found an effortlessly expressive way of dramatizing it."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 696 words, 08/14/12
Ian Buckwalter, NPR: EXCELLENT "...a queasy thriller of discomfort... a wickedly compelling thriller, a skin-crawling, stranger-than-fiction examination of the darkest power of authority."(See all of Ian Buckwalter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 715 words, 08/16/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "In a riveting performance, Ann Dowd creates a figure as recognizable as her actions are appalling... 'Compliance' is potent filmmaking that's not easily forgotten."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 08/24/12
Dana Stevens, Slate: OUTSTANDING "...examines, among other things, how misplaced faith in authority can lead to abuse on a systemic scale. It's a deeply moral movie about the failure of morality..."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 08/17/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT " 'Compliance' has served as a kind of Rorschach test for the audience, which seems uproariously involved with the film, shouting back at the characters..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,524 words, 08/19/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...gripping... intelligent low-budget filmmaking that handles its risky subject matter with taste and discipline.... Zobel lets scenes play out in near-unbearable real time..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 787 words, 01/21/12
Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "Likely to spur discussions about workplace safety, employee rights and broader awareness of sexual predation... for viewers prepared to tolerate its extremes."(See all of Justin Lowe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 813 words, 01/23/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "In a riveting performance, Ann Dowd creates a figure as recognizable as her actions are appalling... 'Compliance' is potent filmmaking that's not easily forgotten."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 08/24/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...squirmy... slithers rapidly from uncomfortable to unspeakable. And inasmuch as this level of sordidness can be handled tastefully, Mr. Zobel succeeds..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 405 words, 08/17/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...a nasty little bottom-feeder of a film... too inept to make its misanthropic case... depicts its working-class characters with almost palpable scorn..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 08/24/12
22.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Compliance's reviews are separated by an average 22.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Compliance (40 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Compliance's reviews cover 65.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,544 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 539 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Compliance's reviews on average broke 3 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Compliance's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Compliance (40 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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