November 18, 2008: Outsourced
I had heard about this movie for quite some time, and was never able to quite figure out the theatrical release schedule, since it seemed to be available on video in some places and not yet in theatres where I was. Ultimately I sidestepped the confusion by simply waiting for a long time and then seeing it in the theatre.
Outsourced is a film about an American call centre manager whose office in the USA is about to be closed, to outsource the work to India. He initially fears that he will lose his job, but is instead told that his new job will be in India, getting the new call centre up and running. He will need to be there until the minutes-per-call measurement is at an acceptable level. The promise of unvested stock options pushes him over the edge and makes him give up his comfortable middle-class American life for the unknown.
This is fertile ground for film storytelling, with work conflict, fish-out-of-water comedy, cultural clashes, potential for exotic romance, and meaning of life factors all freely available, and I’m surprised there haven’t been more movies focusing on this phenomenon. Our protagonist of course struggles at first with unfamiliar customs in India, learns to accept the differences of the culture in which he is immersed, and finally achieves success. Where the story goes from there is creative and thankfully not tied to typical Hollywood conventions, with a satisfying ending which doesn’t need to spell everything out.
I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that the romantic angle is obvious – the Indian call centre is populated with lots of nice people but only one spunky and clearly overqualified young lady with conventional good looks and the biggest eyes you’ve ever seen (in a good way). Even though we know where it’s going, the start of their involvement is abrupt and awkward, although later on the reason for this pacing becomes clear and it makes sense. I guess a romantic storyline is OK tacked on to the main plot, but I’m undecided about how much the characters grow because of it.
Cultural divides between America and India are handled sensitively, and that’s a real strong point about this film. Of course people don’t understand conventions of foreign places (or of foreigners) at first, but almost everyone (except cartoonish “villains” like the boss) is depicted as open-minded and attempts to sample and understand the practices of others.
This isn’t a complex movie, and I wouldn’t recommend that everyone rush out and see it, but it’s decent light entertainment.
Post a Comment