Let me start off by saying that if you thought the idea of black telemarketers using their "white voices" was weird you might have a stroke watching this movie. This film is the debut of writer/director Boots Riley and serves as one of the most unique social commentaries in recent memory.
The film follows Cassius Green, a down on his luck man living in Oakland who gets a job as a telemarketer. When sales aren't going well a fellow employee gives him a tip, telling him to use a white voice. This leads Cassius to a new level of telemarketing, growing to hopefully become a "power caller" and enter a wild world of high stakes sales. That's as much as I want to say because this film is full of surprises that I want everyone to enjoy.
This film is incredibly clever. It's social commentaries on class, race, slavery, working conditions, and mistreatment of protesters are all really well laid out, and Riley does a lot of interesting technical things within the film, especially how he shows Cassius' telemarketing calls. The script all around is great, it is consistently intriguing and the dialogue is fantastic. The way Riley balances telling his political message with also telling a solid story is really impressive, especially from a first time filmmaker. The cinematography is pretty great throughout as well, making this film as visually enjoyable as it is storywise and thematically. The only issue I had is that it isn't always clear what the direction of some scenes are, likely because of how loaded with different messages the film is.
The acting in this film is absolutely superb. Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius and knocks it out of the park. He is hilarious at times and when needed to tones everything down, combating the absurdity of the film very well. His girlfriend is played by Tessa Thompson who also does well. Thompson has really shown her talent in the past few years and I hope she starts getting some big leading roles, because she once again steals a lot of the scenes she is in. Armie Hammer is a stand out as well, he is way over the top and it works incredibly. I'm glad Hammer is rising back into prominence because I think he's a very talented actor and it feels like after The Social Network no one was giving him the recognition he deserved. The rest of the ensemble including actors such as Steven Yeun, Terry Crews, and Danny Glover is also great and complements the films' central stars well.
This film isn't for everyone. It is very out there and at times absurd, but it tells a strong story and tells it in interesting ways. The social commentaries are well thought out and told and I found myself really enjoying this one.
Rating: 4.25/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
The film follows Cassius Green, a down on his luck man living in Oakland who gets a job as a telemarketer. When sales aren't going well a fellow employee gives him a tip, telling him to use a white voice. This leads Cassius to a new level of telemarketing, growing to hopefully become a "power caller" and enter a wild world of high stakes sales. That's as much as I want to say because this film is full of surprises that I want everyone to enjoy.
This film is incredibly clever. It's social commentaries on class, race, slavery, working conditions, and mistreatment of protesters are all really well laid out, and Riley does a lot of interesting technical things within the film, especially how he shows Cassius' telemarketing calls. The script all around is great, it is consistently intriguing and the dialogue is fantastic. The way Riley balances telling his political message with also telling a solid story is really impressive, especially from a first time filmmaker. The cinematography is pretty great throughout as well, making this film as visually enjoyable as it is storywise and thematically. The only issue I had is that it isn't always clear what the direction of some scenes are, likely because of how loaded with different messages the film is.
The acting in this film is absolutely superb. Lakeith Stanfield plays Cassius and knocks it out of the park. He is hilarious at times and when needed to tones everything down, combating the absurdity of the film very well. His girlfriend is played by Tessa Thompson who also does well. Thompson has really shown her talent in the past few years and I hope she starts getting some big leading roles, because she once again steals a lot of the scenes she is in. Armie Hammer is a stand out as well, he is way over the top and it works incredibly. I'm glad Hammer is rising back into prominence because I think he's a very talented actor and it feels like after The Social Network no one was giving him the recognition he deserved. The rest of the ensemble including actors such as Steven Yeun, Terry Crews, and Danny Glover is also great and complements the films' central stars well.
This film isn't for everyone. It is very out there and at times absurd, but it tells a strong story and tells it in interesting ways. The social commentaries are well thought out and told and I found myself really enjoying this one.
Rating: 4.25/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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