Sorry to Bother You (2018)
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Sorry to Bother You Movie Review
Sorry to Bother You is a 2018 science fiction drama film directed by Boots Riley and starring Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson. It’s a solid, but crazy flick.
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“If you beautiful perversions don’t
shut the fuck up, I’ll turn you into glue!“
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It follows a young black telemarketer who adopts a white accent in order to thrive at his job. Once he does, he rapidly gets swept up into a conspiracy, and must choose between making money at the expense of humanity and joining with his activist friends to organize labor. That premise sounds great and the movie is very effective in that strong conflict surrounding its protagonist.
That central conflict is so wonderfully explored with excellent dialogue and a couple of truly dramatic conversations well played out that I was quite disappointed when the movie turned into something all-together different in the second half. By introducing Equisapiens (horse people) the film became simply too silly and weird to be taken seriously anymore. I would give the filmmakers props for being original, but still this could have been done much better.
That’s why I found Armie Hammer ridiculous as a villain. He was typecast and he fitted the role quite well, but the character himself is too silly really. But Tessa Thompson is so good in her role and Lakeith Stanfield stole the show in a very complex, terrific protagonist role.
Sorry to Bother You also signals the arrival of Boots Riley as such a competent new director who showed real promise with his first movie here. The dialogue is also excellent and the script of the first half is excellent, but the movie is so much better as an indie drama instead of a science fiction film as those elements simply did not work as well.
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I also did not find the movie funny it all so it’s not an absurdist comedy as many would call it. The movie is very well shot and also well scored. It’s a rather solid, effective indie flick which is particularly strong for a directorial debut, but it’s simply not good enough to be considered among the best indies of the year.
Sorry to Bother You is a very divisive movie as some absolutely love it and some despise it. I am, however, in the middle. I find it to be a solid indie drama that is especially strong as a directorial debut for Boots Riley and a terrific acting showcase for Lakeith Stanfield. The dialogue is fine and the first half is particularly good in its central conflict. But the second half, though original, is simply too crazy, weird and honestly silly in Equisapiens and the movie never quite worked as a SF or as an absurdist comedy tale.
