Author: Shari K. Green

‘Viper Club’ is dedicated to the ‘many international conflict journalists and human aid workers who put themselves in harm’s way, as well as their families back home.’ Right away, we jump into E.R. nurse Helen’s (Sarandon) story. Her journalist son Andy was in Syria when he was kidnapped by terrorists looking to make millions for his safe return. She has already been in contact with the FBI and Homeland Security who promise her that it’s their ‘top priority’ to get him back safe and sound. They also tell her not to talk to anyone as they rifle through her emails to make sure she’s not making any sort of contact with the terrorists in an attempt to pay them for his release. They want to control every step of the operation with no money exchanging hands. Paying ransom is against the law and she would be jailed if she does. Getting nowhere, she’s frustrated, heartbroken and disappointed with the lack of progress. She explains that a jail sentence would be welcomed to living life without Andy. She’s told to keep Andy’s kidnapping to herself but is unable to and has already contacted the people she and Andy trust most.

Andy’s friends get her in touch with Charlotte (Falco), whose son Leo was returned after she collected donations from sources willing to help her with her predicament. Helen is told about the ‘Viper Club,’ an unofficial organization of international journalists and some gracious, incredibly wealthy people who might be willing to help. The journalists in the network speak of who they had met while in captivity and are able to give everyone some insight on what the prisoners go through. This usually helps when the richest of the rich decide it’s time to open up their wallets but isn’t easy on the mother’s to hear. Helen, strong through it all, is constantly assaulted by memories of when they argued or of Andy as a child while at the same time reads to a child who’s laying in a hospital bed in a coma. There’s a fascinating juxtaposition going on as the two mothers fight for the same thing; one able to provide comfort to the other while one is left screaming inside.

Helen is told the terrorists want 20 million dollars for Andy’s return. Without this money, Andy will surely be killed so with some urging, she decides to make a video about what has happened to her son and pleads to the terrorists not to hurt him. She looks into the camera lens and informs his captors that she will scrape together every penny that she has and get them what she can. The video is picked up by cable news and spreads like wildfire. Luckily, through Charlotte’s connections, money starts pouring in.

The film is entertaining and measured. The score is simple and elegant and appropriately touching in moments when the audience needs to be reminded of this mother’s struggle. As I mentioned earlier, Helen is strong but Sarandon might have played her too apprehensively, too withdrawn because you don’t feel for Helen the way you should when someone is experiencing this much agony.

‘Viper Club’ is conceptually full of good intentions but its execution lacks a self-reliant appeal needed to make it the must-see it could have been. What happens at the end is emotional and an incredibly effective way to end a film like this which is exactly the same way it started, palpable and bold. Not much explanation needed. In these trying times we’re in, the storyline it covers is reason enough to watch.

When I read the synopsis for this movie, I wasn’t expecting what I ultimately received. It was outlined properly but ‘Wildlife’ (the title will make sense when you watch it) was so much more than what the trailer suggests. From the title, you don’t foresee yourself taking the journey you’re about to take with the characters in this film. It was such an emotional task, I’d like to see it again and soon. It stays with you.

Making his directorial debut after helping pen the script with Zoe Kazan and Richard Ford, Paul Dano, adds a special touch that seems to accompany all of the characters he plays; one of quiet, deep contemplation, internal reflection, and inspection of oneself. I see in the son of the main character, Joe (Oxenbould) the roles Dano chooses for himself. I would go so far as to say Joe is the central figure of the piece rather than his mother Jean (Mulligan). Joe is a boy of fourteen and soon a lot more than should be will be asked of him. He’s forced to grow up rather quickly and steady a rock he isn’t nearly ready to climb. A pivotal question is, will he be able to and how will this affect his life after?

Set in 1960’s Montana, Jerry (Gyllenhaal) loses his job and is having a difficult time finding another. Jean and Joe are worried about finances and let him know they’re willing to work to help pay the bills and put food on the table. Prideful and with his masculinity in question, Jerry doesn’t want his wife and son working to support the family when that’s what he’s there for. Instead, though it’ll take him out of the house, he accepts employment as a firefighter. Near the border, the state is in need of help to contain an uncontrolled fire. Very symbolic of Jerry and Jean’s relationship the fire is consuming everything in its path. Concerned and now regretting their recent move to Montana, Jean’s misgivings are more about what his taking a job so far from home really means and asks, ‘What kind of man leaves his wife and child in such a lonely place.’

The script is so impressively written and so serious in its approach to these lives after Jerry leaves, you soon see that the present and his job aren’t the problems for Jean, but that something else may have happened to her in the past that she can’t entirely escape from. The drama builds from that point on. You watch the drama unfold from Joe’s point of view, witnessing his mother fall apart before his very eyes. You’ll be drawn in with excellent performances and outstanding writing that, rather appropriately, let’s this story, as Dano does the best, slowly develop. You’ll be mystified and mesmerized and speculate just how manic has this woman become as well as ponder how balanced was she really before? What is it that kept her from showing these signs of self-doubt. What is she willing to do to right the ship and for whose best interest?

Jean speaks to Joe as if he’s her friend, not her child, a recipe for disaster. She talks to him in a manner she shouldn’t and is operating in a way that his young mind can’t quite comprehend; his eyes observe what they should never see. Despondent, the child reminds his mother of her responsibilities as a parent and of his father as she flirts with other men to feel better about herself or, as you assume is the case from her behavior, move on to something better. Perhaps it’s both? Unfortunately for Joe, he’s about to find out.

Mulligan is downright frightening to watch in this portrayal as she slips on her ‘desperation dress’ and devours more alcohol. It’s hard to see this being overlooked during Academy time. Oxenbould was the perfect choice to give the audience a feeling of desperation and hope at the same time. He eats alone, shops and does the dishes as his mother becomes less available to him but he always appears to have faith that things will work out. However, over time it starts to slip. Close Up shots and landscapes are used to put you in this town, in the house, and in the conversations and work to magnify the story. Jerry forces Joe to talk and Dano, magnificently might I add, forces you to watch Joe’s struggle with being in the middle of his parent’s pain and struggle. While at the same time, they’re ignoring their son’s. This is a very complex and deeply profound film to watch. I must insist you see it. The very end scene captures it all. ‘Hold still.’ Look. What do you see?