‘SORRY TO BOTHER YOU’

R 1:45

Writer and director Boots Riley’s crackling first film “Sorry to Bother You “may just be the craziest movie of the year. Fierce, provocative and bold, it’s a challenging social statement about race and capitalism wrapped in a colorful, magical realist coating that will leave your head spinning. It is not perfect — far from it — and really goes off the rails at the end, but its ideas and impact are undeniable.

The brilliant Lakeith Stanfield stars as Cassius Green, a young man living with his artist-activist girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson) in his uncle’s garage in Oakland, California. He’s behind on his rent and desperately needs a job. In an interview at a telemarketing agency, RegalView, he touts his accomplishments from jobs past and has even brought an employee of the month placard from one of his gigs, like a kid at show and tell.

But while this image might tug at some heartstrings, it’s not as simple as it looks. The man behind the desk knows Cassius, or Cash as many of his friends call him, is lying. He’s fabricated his resume and gotten his friend to pose as a former supervisor. But the recruiter is impressed with his initiative and hires him on the spot. Besides, he says, telemarketing doesn’t require any skills.

The RegalView offices are in a dreary, soul-crushing basement, packed to the brim with row upon row of cubicle-bound workers making unsolicited phone calls trying to sell encyclopedias to unappreciative customers.

Stanfield, who is always memorable no matter how big the role, from “Short Term 12” to “Get Out,” delivers a powerful performance as Cassius in his oppression, his empowerment and eventual enlightenment. Both he and Thompson effortlessly maintain their characters’ integrity even as the narrative gets exponentially crazier as the film goes on.

“Sorry to Bother You” has a lot more to say about exploitative capitalist systems, white privilege, black bodies, protest art and even viral videos. While it doesn’t always work, Riley has clearly held nothing back and after 25+ years of using his voice and unique point of view in the world of hip-hop, this is as audacious an entry into the world of feature filmmaking as one could possibly make. Hopefully it won’t be his last.

Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Armie Hammer, and Danny Glover. (Pervasive language, some strong sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use.) — Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press