Compliance, written, produced, and directed by Craig Zobel, is an interesting, hard-hitting, and disturbing crime thriller. Its message serves as a warning about the impact of fearing authority to the point of indiscriminately submitting to it without any forethought.

If you, like me, think that this could not happen, especially in the United States, you would be shocked to learn that the plot is based on actual events where a perpetrator managed to carry on a diabolical scam that left several devastated victims in its wake.

This is an independent film made on a modest budget, with talented actors and a taut screenplay. Most of the plot unfolds at a fast-food restaurant in rural Ohio, though the filming was done at a New Jersey restaurant. The filming of the film was completed in a fortnight.

Sandra (Ann Dowd), a middle-aged manager, is under stress. She has received word that a mystery shopper is going to visit her establishment soon and wants to ensure that she makes the right impression on this person. She is upset with Kevin (Philip Ettinger), one of her employees, who left the freezer open, causing some of her food to rot. To complicate matters, meat for her sandwiches is in short supply. She is also recently engaged to be married to her fiance.

She is preoccupied and irritable and admonishes all her staff to perform better. At this stage, she gets a call from a police officer, Daniels, who claims that he has been in touch with her regional manager about an incident that has just occurred at her restaurant. Daniels proceeds to tell her that Becky (Dreama Walker), an employee at the restaurant, has stolen money from the purse of a patron who visited the restaurant earlier that day. Daniels makes it clear that Sandra should cooperate with him to the best of her ability to ensure that the matter is properly resolved.

Sandra orders Becky to come to her office and confronts the latter, with Daniels on the line. Daniels intimidates Becky, who consents to cooperate completely with the investigation. A search of Becky’s pockets and purse comes up empty. After a brief conversation with Becky, the officer proceeds to tell Sandra that he is investigating Becky’s brother for drug possession and is conducting a search at her house with other officers.

Upon Daniel’s orders for a strip search, Sandra has Becky take off her clothes in the presence of another female employee, Marti (Ashlie Atkinson). This search too comes up empty.

Daniels tells Sandra that she may not be able to find the missing money, which may be concealed in ‘hidden pockets’ in Becky’s clothing. Sandra, taking orders from Daniels, puts all of Becky’s clothes in a plastic bag and leaves them in her Subaru for Daniels to collect.

A devastated Becky is seated at the office with only an apron on. Sandra tells Daniels that she has to attend to her urgent duties at the restaurant. Daniels at this stage tells Sandra that he needs one of her male employees to watch Becky for security reasons.

Any person of reasonable intelligence could have spotted the con. Unfortunately, Sandra is too preoccupied with her own duties at the restaurant. She leaves Kevin with Becky and returns to her managerial duties.

Daniels asks Kevin to have Becky take off the apron for another strip search. Kevin refuses to go along. When Sandra returns to her office to check on the situation, Daniels complains to Sandra that Kevin is not cooperating.

Daniels convinces Sandra to bring in her fiance, Van (Bill Camp), to keep an eye on Becky. Sandra summons Van to the restaurant. Van, who has been out with his friends, comes to the restaurant in an inebriated state.

Kevin smells a rat, but Marti advises him not to go against the officer. Van, however, is easily manipulated and blindly follows Daniel’s perverted orders, inflicting unimaginable harm and humiliation on Becky. Will Sandra catch on? Who is this mystery caller? Can the situation be remedied? The rest of the plot answers these questions.

Ann Dowd turns in a strong performance as Sandra, who first comes across as just a strict boss. However, her misguided sense of duty and fear overshadow her rationality and even her obligation to stand by her staff. Dreama Walker also delivers a great performance as the clueless, unfortunate Becky, a victim of circumstance, also forced into submission by her fear of the law.

Considered one of the most disturbing and controversial movies ever made, Compliance reminds us how our crippling fear of those in authority can overwhelm us and suppress rational thought and even our sense of right and wrong.

Here are my takeaways: Following the law is not the same as blindly following orders from someone in authority. Everyone in the workforce should have some knowledge of the law and their own rights.

Our fear of the unknown by itself can make us do some of the most unscrupulous things. This is an important movie, especially for the younger generation who join the workforce. It is disturbing but packs a priceless message.