Sarandon strong in kidnap drama
Susan Sarandon provides a strong emotional core to “Viper Club,” portraying a dedicated nurse whose war correspondent son falls into the clutches of Islamic State militants in Syria. But in a film that should be dripping with drama, there is surprisingly little tension.
“Viper Club,” which refers to an underground network that helps abducted journalists, is far from a bad film — the acting is strong across the board, and the production values are solid. But the movie often plays like a solid episode of “ER,” focusing on the hospital shifts of veteran caretaker Helen (Sarandon, her best work in a while) instead of her desperate efforts to get her son back.
The film opens as Helen is hiding a secret from her coworkers: The government wants to keep her son’s abduction quiet. The trouble is, the FBI and State Department seem to be taking the matter as urgently as, say, the Department of Motor Vehicles office. The snail-like investigative progress leads Helen to seek out help from folks like Charlotte (Edie Falco, very good), a wealthy, more sophisticated woman whose son was similarly kidnapped in the past.
The scenes between veterans Sarandon and Falco crackle, and we wish for more of them. But we keep getting whisked back to the hospital. The characters there are engaging enough, but they have a way of diffusing the central plot and slowing things down.
Fortunately, Sarandon has such a strong, textured presence that she keeps the film together, even when we clamor for some more intrigue and conflict.
The ageless Sarandon is at her finest in the final frames. It’s a powerful reminder of her considerable ability to exude both vulnerability and strength. “Viper Club” fully utilizes her skills, but it doesn’t quite have the story to match.