Studio: 20th Century Studios
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Damian Shannon, Mark Swift
Producer: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi
Stars: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Dennis Haysbert
Review Score:
Summary:
The rivalry between an arrogant boss and a marginalized manager takes new turns while the two of them work to survive being stranded together on a remote island.
Review:
It’s doubtful he’d take it as an insult, since he or his agent seemingly understand the personality types that naturally suit him, but Dylan O’Brien comes automatically equipped with the ideal presence to portray “Send Help’s” Bradley, a former frat bro born into such privilege that being the golf-playing, self-absorbed, aggressively douchey new boss of his father’s company comes easy for him. Rachel McAdams, on the other hand, needs a little more help from costuming and characterization to hide her Hollywood star stature inside Linda Liddle, the overworked and overlooked project manager Bradley passed over for a promotion, in part because her smelly tuna fish sandwich annoyed him.
From her frazzled hair, reddened complexion, and frumpy sweater, there’s no mistaking Linda’s type. She’d be a librarian if she weren’t in an office, where inviting herself to after-work karaoke creates an awkward situation with coworkers who’ve clearly grown accustomed to casual condescension. The same goes for Linda’s patronizing supervisor, who dyes his smoothed-back hair to match the yellow, handwritten Post-It note he removes to take credit for Linda’s lengthy company report.
At her home, the camera passes across a shelf stacked with survival books to not so much hint, but to make completely sure everyone knows ahead of time that Linda is a wilderness buff. If somehow someone doesn’t know what’s coming, they do now. For good measure, the shot includes a framed photo of Linda at the Grand Canyon, complete with an outstretched arm indicating she took the selfie alone. Next up is prepping tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s sack lunch in a worn bathrobe. Of course, Linda has a pet parakeet, with whom she shares her peanut-buttered bread while they settle in for the latest episode of “Survivor.”
In most other movies, on-the-nose exposition might be a major turnoff. “Send Help” pours through a Sam Raimi filter though, so the director’s pedigree brings a signature style where tongue-in-cheek touches lighten nastiness with levity without turning the film into a full-on comedy. Obviously, movies play differently in different hands, yet this is one where Raimi’s specific sensibilities inject humor, horror, and human nature for an entertaining blend that might be too salty or too stale under a chef who can’t properly season for all those flavors.
Linda doesn’t just watch “Survivor,” she dreams of being on it, as evidenced by a humiliating audition tape Bradley and his cronies snort at on a private plane to Bangkok for a merger meeting. Linda also dreams maybe there was something to a Christmas party interaction he forgot about, but she thought might be flirting, even though the giant diamond sparkling on Bradley’s fiancée’s finger puts that fantasy further out of reach.
Both of those dreams come somewhat true, in a roundabout fashion, when that plane crashes in the ocean, stranding Linda and Bradley on a remote island as the only survivors. This puts Linda in her element, ready and raring to build thatch shelters and cook lizards. Bradley, meanwhile, is very much out of his pampered comfort zone, hobbled by an injured leg, unable to eat insects, and stuck with someone he thinks is noxious to be around. You’d think he might change his tune when she starts taking care of him, but that only makes him meaner, setting up the dynamic between Linda and Bradley for a rollercoaster ride that will have them scheming, sympathizing, and swindling each other the longer their ordeal goes on.
Flourishes of flair can be found in individual moments, or at least in splattery scenes, like when Linda has a gruesome, goopy battle with a wild boar that refuses to die easily. The overall movie has a harder time coming across as completely original. “Yellowjackets” viewers can’t help but see Linda pulling every page out of Misty’s playbook as both similarly plot to put themselves in positions of power that prolong rescue while they pursue imaginary romances. Two hours isn’t too long for a movie. It is, however, too long to make obvious caricatures out of irrational behavior as the seesaw between Linda and Bradley moves up and down to a predictable rhythm.
And yet, the aforementioned Raimi touch gives “Send Help” a decisive edge over identical setups and stories. The wicked winks and implied smirks he slips in via shock shots of shrieking corpses and flesh-ripping action offer regular reminders that this is fiction intended for escapism. “Send Help” only needs a certain amount of seriousness. Logic lapses and conveniences of narrative timing should be removed from one’s mind immediately after processing.
Shinier on the right one than it is dull on the wrong one, the two sides of “Send Help’s” coin can be looked at another way. This isn’t a movie someone enjoys for surprise twists, since open eyes can see where things are headed most of the time, what with so much being telegraphed via Chekhov’s (insert item/mention here). More dialed into the journey rather than the destination, “Send Help” is a movie meant to be enjoyed for its wildish ride, and there’s no driver better suited to be behind this particular wheel than Sam Raimi.
Review Score: 75
“Send Help” is a movie meant to be enjoyed for its wildish ride, and there’s no driver better suited to be behind this particular wheel than Sam Raimi.