How does one even begin to describe a film so ambitious and full of ideas? It's hard to even begin. Let's talk about the movie's tone and setting, some strange breeding of Charlie Kaufman, David Lynch, and Spike Lee (and Spike Jonze for that matter). There is something so ludicrous here that I really haven't seen since the first time I saw "Being John Malkovich" (Kaufman & Jonze, of course). Here, we follow our hero named Cassius aka "Cash" (Lakeith Stanfield, who you will remember from "Get Out" last year). Desperate for work to support his girlfriend (Tessa Thompson) as they live out of his uncle's garage. Cash lands a job at a call center named RegalView. The job is lousy, commission only, dingy workplace, and shady management. Their sole mantra when it comes to productivity: "Stick to the script."
Cash takes the advice of another caller (Danny Glover) who advises him to take on a white voice when making his calls. No, he doesn't mean simply to put on a more nasal voice, he tells Cash to "act like you're going to drive off in a Mercedes when you finish the call." In one of the film's first jaunts into surrealism, Cash's white voice is none other than David Cross (how fitting a voice, indeed). Soon, Cash is rising through the ranks as a natural seller. As he is promoted, the tired workers of RegalView begin to form a riot as they begin to seek benefits. In an even more grand picture, global protests are beginning over a company called "WorryFree" which offers people lifelong housing and food in exchange for a lifetime of servitude for the company.
With each new scene, Riley creates more and more whimsey, and justly greater steaks. What I just described is basically the plot as seen in the film's trailer, but this covers no more than the first third of the picture. Cash later goes on to meet Armie Hammer (in a ridiculously coked-up role) as WorryFree's CEO. He enlists Cash to work for him after seeing his strong work ethic. Cash has also been promoted to Power Caller on the top floor, where a gold elevator takes the star employees to luxury offices where they telemarket things like guns, war, and human beings. Oh, and the elevator has a voice that encourages these Power Callers to "not jerk off" and to "build up stamina for the day ahead." Charlie Kaufman would certainly be proud.
The satire is blatant, but it feels right for this time. As Cash begins to navigate the growing concern among the everyday man as big corporations and government take over the city, we also get a peek at their television stations. One channel is a gameshow in which players get the shit beaten out of them. Can you guess the title? Another is a reality show about workers eating sludge and sleeping in endless bunkbeds in WorryFree. And the last is the news, which makes light of the most meaningless stories and washes over the dark and sinister plotting going on by Armie Hammer and his company. As the citizens in this farcical world begin to fall in over their heads, here is an outward appearance of smiles and good times.
Some people I talked to were put off by the film's final revelation and climax. I suppose that if you look at the film's first scene and then very last, you would guess that you are watching two very different movies. But as I sat there and watched this story progress, first as a man needing a job and finally open warfare on the streets of Oakland, the logical progression is smart and important. While Boots Riley has crammed in enough here for maybe 4 separate films, nevertheless this is the voice of an artist who is taking big risks with big payoff. Some might compare this to Jordan Peele's "Get Out," but I think here our story is less about race and more about American society as it stands today. Both are high concept, tightrope walks that seem on the verge of crumbling. When you see it done so well, it's hard not to smile. This is certainly one of the year's very best.
