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VIPER CLUB
Director: Maryam Keshavarz Cast: Susan Sarandon, Matt Bomer, Amir Malaklou, Lola Kirke, Sheila Vand, Adepero Oduye, Edie Falco MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:49 Release Date: 10/26/18 (limited); 11/2/18 (wider) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | November 1, 2018 There's a lack of momentum to Viper Club that undermines how dire, how time-sensitive, and how high-stakes this situation is. That's partially the point, since the movie follows a character who has little say or influence over anything. When a life is on the line in a story, though, we have to feel it, especially when the protagonist is mostly helpless to do anything about it. Here, the protagonist is Helen (Susan Sarandon), the mother a freelance journalist (played by Julian Morris) who has been captured by a terrorist organization while covering a conflict in Syria. The son is an American citizen, but since he's not in the military, the FBI is in charge of investigating and handling the matter. At a certain point, Helen realizes that the agency's primary concern is getting information on the group, not rescuing her son. The feds constantly remind Helen that it's illegal to pay a ransom to a terrorist group, but a group called the Viper Club has found ways around the law. Helen gets advice and fundraising help from Charlotte (Edie Falco), whose own son was released from capture overseas, and Sam (Matt Bomer), another journalist. Most of the story follows how Helen simply goes about her routines as a nurse at an emergency room. Forbidden from talking about what has happened by the FBI, she tries to lose herself in her work, forming a bond with the mother (played by Lola Kirke) of a young girl who was shot and is now in a coma. Everything she's feeling is bottled up, and any thoughts of doing more to help her son are shut down by the government or members of the Viper Club. Sarandon's performance effectively communicates this constant frustration and helplessness. The screenplay by director Maryam Keshavarz and Jonathan Mastro, though, mostly meanders and undercuts the severity of this scenario, as Helen is repeatedly stifled from even expressing her thoughts and feelings about her circumstances. The movie's intentions are sound, avoiding politics while focusing exclusively on Helen's unexpressed and, possibly, inexpressible turmoil. Dramatically, Viper Club only offers a couple of notes, repeated over and over in slightly different contexts. Once the movie reaches its abrupt ending, we're left feeling empty—not because of the situation, but because of the realization of how much the filmmakers have left unexamined. Copyright © 2018 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for language and some disturbing images)
