I know this seems to have become the Vultural review thread, but I too enjoy writing short reviews and this is the proper place for them. I watched Sorry to Bother You a few days ago, written and directed by a communist activist - and you can tell. Boots Riley made a biting satire that’s funny most of the time, disturbing some of the time, and enjoyably weird all of the time. The story follows likeable working man Cassius Green, as he lands a job as a telemarketer, and miraculously climbs up the corporate ladder with his apparent natural talent. The film seems to start off grounded in reality, but as Cassius gets richer, it gets more and more surreal as he is estranged from his own identity (shown cleverly by the hilariously fake ‘white voice’ that he puts on for customers). Many have criticised the film for going off the rails in its final act, with a new dystopian/sci-fi element added. However, I thought it was simply an extension of the film’s theme, that valuing people by their labour value only can de-humanise them (hint hint) and alienate them from themselves; besides, it’s an all-too-effective way of warning viewers about the profit motive spiralling out of control in a capitalist society. The third act freaked me out though - horror elements are brought in, and the music is particularly great at adapting to the sudden change of genre.
For all its absurd satire and ‘what if’ concepts, as with all great dystopias, Sorry to Bother You is the logical next step of an existing political system. But I’m already a democratic socialist, so I didn’t need convincing - my main takeaway from this film was, don’t do drugs or you might turn into a horse. It’s mad.
