Compliance
Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker
Based on several real-life incidents, this squirm-inducing drama—a hot potato at this year’s Sundance Film Festival—takes place in a fast food franchise, where an attractive counterperson (the fearless Walker) is accused of stealing by a mysterious phone caller, who identifies himself as a cop. The naive restaurant manager is instructed to take her employee to the office, detain her for questioning, and perform a strip search. (Worse is yet to come.) Grounded in a real sense of economic despair that has everyday people crossing unthinkable lines, the film is easily the summer’s most expert piece of provocation. There’s nudity here, but if you get off on it, best keep that to yourself—or seek professional help.
