Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Directed by: Boots Riley | 112 minutes | comedy, fantasy | Actors: LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Kate Berlant, Michael X. Sommers, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, Robert Longstreet, David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Lily James, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson, Shelley Mitchell

In 2019, it is a good search for original stories among all the Disney dominance. Of course, there is still plenty of beautiful and interesting work being made in the independent corner, but the general public is rarely presented with a truly radical or disruptive work. In that context, it is significant that the critically acclaimed ‘Sorry to Bother You’ in the Netherlands was initially not even released in the cinemas. A shame, because this directorial debut by rapper and activist Boots Riley raises too many relevant questions to be overlooked.

In ‘Sorry to Bother You’ we follow Cassius Green (played by LaKeith Stanfield, previously seen in the fantastic series “Atlanta” and ‘Get Out’), who starts working at a call center. Not that people are necessarily waiting for his calls: the receiver is often thrown at his welcome message. Until Cassius gets a tip from an experienced colleague (Danny Glover): to become successful, he must use his ‘white voice’. With success: after finding that ‘voice’, Cassius hooks one customer after another. He will be eligible for promotion in no time.

Meanwhile, unrest in the workplace is increasing: the working conditions within the company are miserable, and strikes are looming. Cassius soon finds herself stuck between his ambition and colleagues, especially when his girlfriend (Tessa Thompson) – a politically engaged artist – threatens to leave him. And then the acquaintance with his “charismatic” boss (Armie Hammer) is yet to follow, with Cassius stumbling upon the company’s macabre underbelly.

All this seems to lend itself perfectly to a satirical workplace comedy, but luckily the film wants and does much more than that. Above all, ‘Sorry to Bother You’ is a razor-sharp attack on capitalism, shown by Riley, among other things, in the insane excesses within the company’s higher ranks. For example, try to watch TV series “BoJack Horseman” normally again. The director absolutely does not shun the grotesque, but it has a function: the film breathes relevance and anger in every scene, in the spirit of the work of soul mate Spike Lee (‘BlacKkKlansman’, ‘Do the Right Thing’).

‘Sorry to Bother You’ mixes the comical, absurdist and social criticism in a delicious cocktail that both entertains and disrupts. An indictment of the work culture, white privilege and especially the (stuck) system. Riley shows his relevance to the film world in one fell swoop: a maker who dares to step off the beaten path and makes his voice sound loud. And luckily Boots Riley doesn’t need his ‘white voice’ for that.