★★★ out of ★★★★★
Directed by Aneesh Chaganty
Run is the story of a mother named Diane (Sarah Paulson) who homeschools her sickly, wheelchair bound daughter Chloe (Keira Allen) to keep her safe from the outside world (and to keep the teen from discovering her dark secret). It is the second feature from writer/ director Aneesh Chaganty. His debut film, Searching was a surprisingly clever thriller chronicling a father’s search for his missing daughter using only computers and smartphones. Run, however lacks that cleverness and suffers from the sophomore slump.
Let me start on a positive note: the performances are top notch. Sarah Paulson is as always, perfection, balancing caring with overbearing and creepy, but it is Kiera Allen who really shines in her feature debut. Her performance while Chloe begins to realize that her mother may not have her best interests at heart rivals any film veteran and makes you root for her every step of the way.
Unfortunately, along that way the film is totally predictable- I guessed the “twist” before the opening credits- and also…kinda silly, especially the painfully long scene on the roof that culminates with the most ridiculous and dramatic window breaking I have ever seen. More Paulson! More of Diane’s backstory (literally- explain the scars on her back)!
All that said, Run is a fun film and you will be yelling at the screen for better or worse. It has a PG-13 rating and is a film that teens will probably really like; I don’t think I am the target audience and that’s OK.
Originally planned for an earlier release (it is 2020 after all) Run will be streaming on Hulu in November.