So, let’s get this out of the way now. This movie is WEIRD! Like ALL THE WAY LEFT weird. Weirder than saying that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. Weirder than your momma saying she may actually resemble Boo Boo, or that she IS one of your little friends. You thought the white voices were strange (which really they aren’t)? Just you wait... If you can get past the WTF moments, this movie is pretty damn good.
Sorry To Bother You follows Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), an East Oakland telemarketer who finds that the key to his success at his merciless job is to start using his carefree white voice. He soon finds that the benefits may not outweigh the detriments of the crazy universe he entered.
Through all of the insanity that occurs in the alternate-reality Oakland, Sorry to Bother You has a whole lot to say. Some may take away that the movie highlights how money is the root of all evil. But in actuality, it is power. Yes, wealth plays a part to enhance its impact, but power is the strongest drug that is at the root of everything that holds weight: evil, success, love, hate, and so much more. Sorry to Bother You wants to let its audience know how power has made our society into puppets and pioneers. Positional power can force employees to blindly follow bosses. Systematic power allows the majority to parade the minority around for amusement and fetishize their physical power. Pop culture’s social power can take control of the masses. Power in numbers can overthrow unjust rulers. Power of self can give you a purpose. Power can be used for better or for worse, and Sorry to Bother You tackles all these powerful subjects for better or worse.
As a social commentary, Sorry to Bother You is a needed and captivating look into today’s world. As a movie, it leaves a little more to be desired. There are so many social topics that are touched upon that the narrative feels a bit messy and scatterbrained. It causes you to connect with the movie as a whole and less with its characters. Every character and actor fits perfectly (especially Stanfield and Tessa Thompson as his girlfriend, Detroit) but the true star is Boots Riley’s directing. His inspiring lighting and setting choices create striking visuals. He uses everything imaginable to emphasize his story. The white voice is only a small portion of his imagination. You can see his music video directing experience as every detail is given importance. It creates a hyper focus on the current scene on screen, emphasizing the dilemmas that Cassius is tussling with moment to moment.
In the end, Sorry to Bother You is an entertaining story that takes you on a wild ride through prominent visuals and out-of-this-world adventures. The overall atmosphere outshines the individual characters and narratives, but Boots Riley’s directing carries audiences through a mind-bending experience like no other. I am giving Sorry to Bother You 8/10 “Kill Kill Kill” Earrings.