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Review: 'Sorry to Bother You'

In an alternative present-day, a telemarketer finds the key to success and promotes him into a world of greed.

By David GricePublished 5 years ago 2 min read
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Ever since it's first screening back in January at the Sundance Film Festival, this directorial debut film by Boots Riley always seems to get mentioned once every couple of weeks.

The common topics people seemed to discussing about this film was it's originality, unpredictability and quirkiness. All of those keywords are points towards cult status. That for me usually sees me living it or getting it but just not enjoying it.

I went into this with caution as I was wanting to get it and be part of the cult following. I was so happy to feel the same love so many people are getting from this highly- imaginatively told story.

From the hilarious opening scene, I knew then that I was going to like this.

The first half is pretty strong, it introduces us to the tone of this alternate reality really well and the character development was moving along nicely. I noticed many imaginative fantasy sequences and I was beginning to see why this is becoming such a success on the festival circuit.

But by the time an off-piste twist takes place, we head into a very obscure second half which could make or break your interest in the story.

For me, I was still going with it as it kept to its themes and I admired the commitment from Boots Riley and his team. But I can certainly some people feeling lost and just seeing it for being ridiculous and silly.

I wouldn't say any of the performances were out of this world. But they all did a good job. Lakeith Stanfield more than held his own as the lead and his natural charisma carried through to the end and made him a very engaging presence.

Tessa Thompson was a solid support to Stanfield and had a very believable relationship with his characters.

It was great seeing people like Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Arnie Hammer and Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead fame be involved and they all had their time to shine.

By far its biggest strength is it's themes. It's universal, it feels very current and it's unique and quirky tone makes it stand-out above any similar story with a conventional approach. I can easily see this being this generations Animal Farm.

The general look of it is pretty strong as well. As I said before, some of the fantasy sequences were put together really well added to the charm of a strong opening act.

No real negatives to speak of, so it's all down how strong the positives and how impactful it what was for me.

So if I was being cruel, I would say that the writing and the overall performances not that exceptional or award-worthy. That criticism is just preventing it from one of the years best and having to settle to just be a really good film. It almost took the next step for me.

So it's safe to say that I most certainly enjoyed this and totally understand the buzz it has been getting from other film festivals this year.

I would quickly embraced the style it was going for and was on board with it for the remainder of it's duration. It covers interesting topics such as class-wars, slavery and equality which gets heavily discussed almost every day in today's society.

I would happily champion this just on its variety alone. I know there are plenty of cinema-goers out there moaning about every blockbuster being the same. Well, here is something totally different that I feel can appeal to numerous demographics.

Rating: 8/10

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About the Creator

David Grice

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