Sorry To Bother You

Anarchic in tone, anarchic in structure, anarchic in spirit, and anarchic in politics.

Thought it was a riot - not a wholly successful riot, but a riot nonetheless. Loved how unabashedly political it was - this is a socialist, pro-organised labour, anti-corporate farce that feels long overdue (not that I ever actually requested it or anything). It's very funny at times - a bit with an absurdly long security code felt right out of Playtime - and largely balances the serious with the absurd with grace. For all the absurdist sequences, this is still a vital, impassioned exploration of worker exploitation and that's its driving force even when things get messy. It's the rare work that really wants to pick at what's wrong with America, and what it lacks in subtlety it makes up for in righteous anger. That the film manages to surprise until late in the game - - is definitely welcome, and stops things getting stale.

It absolutely is obvious this is a first-time director. The style is nowhere near properly settled (a mid-film montage, for example, comes across as cheap rather than stylish), the anarchic structure can be as much a liability as a strength, and there's moments (including the ending) where things don't land as Riley surely intended. That the film's nutty, silly-serious approach still works is I think mostly down to the boundless energy of all involved. Its politics are in-your-face; its comedy niche; and generally it's all rough around the edges. I'd stop well short of calling it a knockout, but it's a ****ing good time nonetheless.