[Sundance Hong Kong 2018 Review] Sorry to Bother You: The Evils of Capitalism

Thanks to the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong for the invitation to watch the opening film Sorry to Bother You two weeks ago. I've been eager to write a detailed review, but I've been swamped lately, so I'll just offer a brief introduction before the film's final screening.

Sorry to Bother You is an incredibly creative film with a very clear theme: the evils of capitalism. The movie centers on Cash (Lakeith Stanfield), a Black man who works as a telemarketer. They push products for big corporations, earning meager salaries while the corporations rake in profits. The office in the film is dimly lit, with employees sitting in rows of desks, constantly on the phone, with no personal space whatsoever. The film uses a fascinating, surreal approach here: when an employee speaks to a customer, they are directly transported to the customer's home or right in front of them. While they seem to enter an unconstrained space when making calls, in reality, they are still stuck in a highly restricted office.

The film's premise already revolves around the alienation of labor, but the script ingeniously adds a creative element: to be more successful with customers, Cash has to use a white accent when speaking to them. Lakeith Stanfield's body paired with David Cross's voice, this kind of racial and linguistic alienation, not only deepens the film's theme but also creates a powerfully striking visual and auditory effect for the audience.

From the very beginning, the film frequently airs an advertisement for a new work model, where workers enjoy free accommodation and food, seemingly living carefree lives. Could this seemingly communist work model be the solution to alienated labor? As the film progresses, Cash becomes a high-level salesperson, discovering that their job is to promote this new work model—revealing that even behind communism, capitalism remains. Although Cash attains wealth, he loses his friends and girlfriend, becomes lost, and experiences another form of alienation.

The film's plot spirals further into madness, becoming increasingly out of control. While Black slavery may have been abolished, new forms of slavery are no longer bound by skin color but determined by class.

Now that I've introduced the film, I should probably get back to work. Don't want to work? Well, then you better become Armie Hammer.