While the beginning seems rather ordinary and foreseeable, Send Help transforms into a satirical, sinuous, and sinister screenplay that is sure to leave you utterly flabbergasted. This movie follows the story of Linda Liddle and Bradley Preston–polar opposites who are stranded together on a supposedly uninhabited island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Back in the office, Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is constantly belittled for her eccentric personality regardless of her hard work, kind heart, and grounded demeanor. Her disparagement only grew with the arrival of Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), her company’s new manager, who perfectly embodies the “Spoiled Brat” archetype with his luxurious taste and ruthless attitude. On the island, it soon becomes clear to both characters that help is not a viable expectation. And while wealth, stature, and reputation are valuable qualities for a corporate workplace, they are irrelevant to the raw, unforgiving nature of a tiny, tropical island. As a result, there is a shift in power between Linda and Bradley, and then some jarring, simply crazy events that follow.
The contrasting personalities of Linda and Bradley sparked a relationship based on insults, taunting, and mocking, all of which laid the groundwork for a comical story. Furthermore, both characters are forcibly put in environments that are uncomfortable or unfamiliar to them. For Linda, this was the office–a brief setting at the beginning–whereas for Bradley, it was the island, which was essentially the entirety of the movie. Therefore, it is safe to say that Dylan O’Brien brought the majority of the humor to this film with his character’s feeble demeanor when stripped away from the materialistic configuration of our society. It is satisfyingly and undeniably amusing when, one day, Mr. Silver Spoon is eating caviar with blini on his private jet, and the next, he finds a bug appealing enough to fulfill his appetite. In addition to the characters themselves, Sam Raimi conveys humor in many ways with his movie-making style. For example, he uses fluids like blood in an exaggerated way to create splatter or slapstick comedy. In certain scenes, he uses fast-paced camera shifts and editing to raise the tension and irony. Sam Raimi’s expertise as a director combined with the writing of the characters is sure to leave you uncontrollably laughing.
Beyond humor, this movie also appeals to psychology. The writing allows the audience to sympathize with both characters when they are vulnerable and spend a lot of time getting to know them. With this thorough oversight, themes surrounding the dangers of power, misogyny, weakness versus politeness, and survival reveal themselves. We can see how power can almost instantly corrupt one’s mind, especially in a scenario where respect is not evenly rationed. Furthermore, audiences can also experience the effects of isolation in one’s ability to cope with change, find comfort, and understand boundaries. On the whole, without giving away too much, the message of this film comes down to: don’t be mean.
In addition to humor and themes, the overall making of this movie was exceptional as well. Both Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien gave performances that flowed with their characters’ ever-changing personalities. The script itself was strong in that there was a balance between humor, thoughtfulness, horror, and gore, leaving the audience prone to the many unpredictable twists that occur throughout the movie. From the perspective of a critic, the one aspect of this film that could’ve been executed better was the CGI. In certain parts of the movie, the backgrounds or light reflections looked a little plasticky, making the use of green screens rather obvious. But this aspect of the movie is not significant when taking into consideration the tasteful use of the tropical landscape in creating meaningful shots in cinematography.
All in all, Send Help is truly an entertaining, thought-provoking piece of cinema that is well written and incredibly humorous. Before concluding, I must warn you that there are some violent, intense, and slightly gross action sequences throughout this movie that come with the “Sam Raimi Effect.” But nonetheless, it is an enjoyable piece of work that will even come in handy in case you are ever in a plane crash and stranded on a deserted island paradise where you need to know what to do, but more importantly… what not to.
