Director: Boots Riley
Writer: Boots Riley (Screenplay)
Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermain Fowler, Omaria hardwick, Terry Crew, Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer
Plot: In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.
Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Weird and Wonderful
Story: Sorry to Bother You starts when Cassius Green (Stanfield) gets a brand-new job as a cold caller, his good friend Salvador (Fowler) also works there and his girlfriend Detroit (Thompson) are trying to plan some sort of future together, joined by new co-worker Squeeze (Yeun) and Langston (Glover) they start searching for the improvement in the job.
When Cassius gets a promotion his life will change forever as he now knows what it is to be away from the financial struggle he has been living through.
Thoughts on Sorry to Bother You
Characters – Cassius Green is a telemarketer living in his Uncle’s garage with his girlfriend, he wants to make more of his life while remaining loyal to his friends, when he gets the chance to make the money, but it will come at a cost, leaving him torn between both worlds needing to make the right decision. Detroit is the girlfriend of Cassius, she is an artist at heart enjoying being close to the streets with her work, she wants to stay loyal to the people that support her. Salvador is the best friend that works with Cassius, he is the one that could see his friend turning his back on him. Mr well they bleep out his name, he welcomes Cassius to upper level seeing him as the star employee. Sergio is the uncle that is tight for money but will support Cassius however difficult it happens to be. Langston shows Cassius how to make an impact in the job, while Squeeze becomes the friend at work trying to make a difference with everything for the employees. Steve Lift runs a company which in the eyes of some is slave labour, he plays it off an opportunity and is happy to see the money roll in.
Performances – Lakeith Stanfield in the leading role is the true star of the film, each scene he is in we are wanting to see more from him, he hits every emotion needed for his characters reactions. Armie Hammer continues to show us just how talented he is with his role in this film. we do get strong performance from the supporting cast with Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun and Jermaine Fowler getting the best moments.
Story – The story shows us how one man’s life can change once he shows that he has a new skill he didn’t know he had, it plays along the lines of getting rich and need to stay loyal to his friends. This is the core of the story, but it soon goes in a different direction, one that will surprise you with what is being built up to. This is a story that is trying to send a message about employment problems a racial vision of people. It does have ideas that things could be changed in the future even if they are focusing what could only cause a bigger problem over solving them. This is going to be a story which you can see people turn away because of just how weird it gets, but it will be a unique vision too.
Comedy/Fantasy/Sci-Fi – The film does have comedic elements once we get to see what is going on too, it is unique in its style, the fantasy side of the film comes from what is meant to be happening behind closed doors in the film.
Settings – The film is set in Oakland, without doing any research this is just a normal American city that doesn’t always give opportunity to the people from the city, it works because it shows how things can get out of hand here.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are good when we see what is happening with the master plan in the film.
Scene of the Movie – The calls are filmed in a unique way which will be remembered.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The forced rap.
Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the most unique films you will see this year, it has one of the weirdest twists that any story will offer with great performances throughout.
Overall: Something you will never forget.
Rating
