Sorry to Bother You, but what do I even say?

It's not often you come across a film that's as singularly odd and mad as Sorry to Bother You. Maybe it's because of the times we live in, but we've grown accustomed to the surreal and the macabre. Nowadays, shock value (with actual merit) is harder to come by because of that contentedness. But then you get a film like this, the debut of writer/director Boots Riley, that is so off the walls insane, blending high concept commentary with relentlessly dark humor, I'm at a loss. I somehow have a lot to say about it, but I'm also at a loss for words on it. That's shock value that feels unheard of anymore.

Like a freaky love child between The Wolf of Wall Street and Brazil, Sorry to Bother You firmly roots itself with very dark satire. Led by a commanding star turn from Lakeith Stanfield, down-on-his-luck Cassius Green (I'll forgive the pun) is interviewed and hired by the Regal View Telemarketing Company. Finding his knack as a natural salesman and fast talker, aided by his David Cross dubbed white voice to make the receiving end more compliant with their confidence, he soon rises up the ranks of the company, soon joining the elite salesman of the higher floors, while leaving his woefully underpaid and unionized co-workers still in the trenches, fighting for their respect.

That white voice angle particularly fascinates me, and that isn't even the weirdest part of the film's sense of humor. While Sorry to Bother You isn't a film wholly driven by racial identity, that sense of heritage still carries a lot of resonance in its construction. Rising up among the ranks of the company, Cassius soon begins to feel paraded around like an example of a "tamed savage." Touching on themes of literal and figurative self-censorship, the white voice feels actively encouraged to project self-confidence and ease the customers with a familiar and recognizable tone. This opens up a lot of comment on self-placed barriers, of groups of people unwilling to stray outside their comfort zones, and only by homogenization and appropriation does such a distance get shortened. Lucrative it may be, but also a soul-sucking technique robbing its users of their identity, including Cassius' boss, Mr. _____, who's own voice has been all but replaced by Patton Oswalt.

And it doesn't stop there, as the world has devolved into this Orwellian fever dream, the WorryFree corporation, one of Regal View's most valued clients led by Steve Lift (Armie Hammer), making tremendous success off the back of glorified slave labor and fascist conformity, and even background details like Lift's bestselling autobiography echoing KKK imagery. And as Cassius begins rising to the top, his friends on the lower end begin to get lost in the fight, trying and failing to make change through their demonstrations outside the building. And the fight stretches further, as Cassius' idealistic girlfriend Detroit (a standout Tessa Thompson) takes to her own style of radical activism, staging examples that directly confront the complacency of the people outside of the fight, and encouraging them to reflect on their violence and ignorance. But is it all futile?

Instead of paving the way for progress, the people instead sit content to let the damage be done. Media thrives off that negativity, fueled by propaganda pieces for corporations, unpleasant and cynical news headlines, and preying upon our lust for violence with game shows designed to literally beat people within an inch of their lives. But really, Sorry to Bother You is a film best experienced cold, so not to spoil the strength of the film's dark comedy. The film is weird enough as it is, but soon reaches a point where Riley decides to stop restraining himself, and go unapologetically bonkers. It is without doubt a massive leap of faith, but no less defined by the same outlandish intellectualism that fuels the rest of the film. And I'm glad that Riley didn't pull back on it (as any lesser filmmaker could have), instead reveling in the erratic and uncomfortable tone that he builds up. It's a real original, and what else can I say about it?

I'm serious! What on earth can I say about this?


****1/2 / *****