Outsourced

The low-key, charming Outsourced is a thoughtful satire about the human side of contemporary frustrations associated with the global economy. Josh Hamilton (The House of Yes) stars as Todd Anderson, vice president of customer relations for a Seattle company that sells phone-order, patriotic kitsch. Part of Todd's job is keeping his operators' order-taking time down to a few minutes. He's good at what he does, but that doesn't stop the company from outsourcing Todd's entire department to somewhere in India, where local workers can field customer calls more cheaply. A reluctant Todd is sent to the subcontinent to train his own replacement and get the new operators up to speed. Neither task goes well, but adding to Todd's frustration is culture shock over everything from Indian table manners to public transportation to minimal bathroom fixtures. There’s something familiar about this particular fish-out-of-water tale (television’s Northern Exposure, as well as such features as Local Hero and Doc Hollywood). The gentle but illuminating Outsourced proves the story, as long as it's told well, never gets old. Todd eventually realizes the best way to escape India and get back to Seattle, ironically, is to let go of his resistance to India's culture and people. Transformation precedes liberation, but the lovely question in Outsourced is this: once Todd is transformed, what does he need to be liberated from? The film's deliberate, carefully paced narrative can't obscure the feeling of epiphany that permeates Outsourced. Nor can some of its other delights: assured location shooting and a fine supporting cast, including a wry Ayesha Dharker as Todd's romantic interest, and a brief appearance by Larry Pine as a kind of older, more serene version of the disoriented central character.