Sorry to Bother You is amongst the most daring, original, and biting American social satires produced in recent or long-term memory. It makes last year’s excellent racial satire/thriller, Get Out, seem downright simple in comparison. Reality television, the trappings of hidden modern-day slavery in the workplace, the lack of racial identify that results from succumbing to dominant white culture… Sorry to Bother You is filled to the brim with intelligent and critical observations of today’s America through a brilliant and exceedingly unique execution.
The film follows Cassius (portrayed by Lakeith Stanfield in a skilled performance that grounds the off-kilter chain of events), a down-on-his-luck African-American in desperate need of a job- any job. Cassius soon joins the ranks of RegalView, a telemarketing company only interested in compensating the employees who turn a profit. Cassius eviscerates his ideals, finds his inner “white voice”, and soon finds he is being groomed for promotion to the coveted and mysterious “Power Caller” position.
As Cassius rises in the ranks of RegalView, Sorry to Bother You simultaneously heightens in levels of absurdity. The film eventually builds to a level of weirdness that would be off-putting if it didn’t serve as such an astute, intelligent method of driving its many messages home.
Like the best cinematic satires before it, from Dr. Strangelove to Fight Club, Sorry to Bother You uses its humor as a tool. The comedic insanity of the film communicates the nightmare of American life for the under-privileged, along with its selective unawareness by those in power. With his directorial debut, Boots Riley (former vocalist of the rap group, The Coup) exhibits skill, bravery, and creativity with an unapologetically aggressive style that is reminiscent of Spike Lee and Terry Gilliam, but also entirely his own.
An instant classic, Sorry to Bother You is a scathing and screaming statement about many of the things wrong with America today. It is concurrently one of the strangest, funniest, and most unpredictable movies you’ll ever see. It marvelously holds up to the standards that Annapurna Pictures has set for itself, as the studio continues providing wide releases to such cutting-edge films of relevance more than just about (A24 being the most notable exception) anyone else today.
GRADE: A
