Susan Sarandon knows how to pick a character; it’s her taste in scripts that we need worry about. In her work as an emergency room nurse, Helen (Sarandon) spends a good portion of her day matter-of-factly breaking bad news to families of hospitalized patients. But when it’s Helen’s turn to be on the receiving end of grief — her son the journalist is reported missing in Syria — co-writer and director Maryam Keshavarz goes out of her way to pad this so-called YouTube Original with every conceivable cliche and then some. Here’s a shock: going to the Feds proves useless! The same applies to cinematographer Drew Daniels’ carrot-dangling-on-a-stick camerawork, a contributing factor to the production’s overall negligibility. Sarandon’s the show and still it’s not good enough to recommend a trip to the theatre. You have my permission to watch this one on your phone. With: Amir Malaklou and Lola Kirke. (2018) — Scott Marks