Writer/director Stephen Belber’s finely crafted “What We Do Next” explores thorny moral questions about what it means to “do good” by helping others, particularly when institutions fail them. The film focuses on three characters: Sandy James (Karen Pittman), a rising, sincere politician in New York City with solid plans for aiding her multicultural, largely disadvantaged constituency; Elsa Mercado (Michelle Veintimilla), a young Latina newly released from prison for murdering his abusive father; and Paul Fleming (Corey Stoll), a lawyer with some guilt for his privilege who shares a past with Sandy.
The story sets up the conflict immediately and the stakes rise over the course of the film. Sandy, with Paul’s help, inadvertently provided the money that Elsa used to buy the gun she used to kill her father. Now that she’s running for higher office, Sandy’s well intended actions won’t be portrayed that way by her rivals. Elsa, still scarred by trauma and angry from her incarceration, wants assistance and protection from Sandy who feels pushed toward an uncomfortable line.
With no real power, Elsa resorts to threats, intimidation and, briefly, violence. The film, divided into seven acts, is a chamber drama of escalating tension. Both Sandy and Paul genuinely want to help Elsa but they also weigh the risks to their own careers and positions where, they reason, they are doing more good for more people.
Since most of the conflict is played out in dialogue among the three principals, the acting needs to be strong and it is. Pittman captures Sandy’s firm convictions, sensitivity and self-preservation. When she tells the desperate Elsa that she understands, she really means it. Veintimilla is flat out terrific in showing how Elsa’s victimization continues to affect her behavior. Stoll conveys the complexity of Paul’s guilt over his status as a corporate lawyer and wades into some ethically murky waters. The film’s strength is in presenting all three characters with understandable dilemmas and choices that will have serious consequences no matter what.
One of those consequences is revealed at a press conference which may not be fully satisfying dramatically. But it allows Pittman to portray a range of emotions with quiet, devastating power.
