Run

Run
Starring Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Pat Healy, Sara Sohn
Directed by Aneesh Chaganty

Many people are familiar with the story of Gypsy Rose and Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee.  Dee Dee always wanted to be a caretaker, and from birth convinced Gypsy Rose that she had a vast amount of diseases that made her completely reliant on Dee Dee - until she found an online boyfriend, and realized that she wasn't actually sick, but her mother kept her isolated and thinking that she was sick in order to care for her.  This is known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and resulted in Dee Dee's murder at the hands of Gypsy Rose's boyfriend.  "Run" is a film that touches on this subject, and is heightened by tremendous performances and a tight, stress-inducing script that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Diane Sherman (Sarah Paulson) gives premature birth to her daughter Chloe, who is diagnosed with a series of health issues - Arrhythmia, Hemochromatosis, Asthma, Diabetes, and Paralysis.  The two live alone in a farmhouse where Diane cares for Chloe's every need - feeding her from her own garden, homeschooling her, and being there for every moment of her life.  Now almost eighteen, Chloe (Kiera Allen) plans on attending college at the University of Washington, and showcases extreme intelligence and resolve.  This shakeup in Diane's life leads to Chloe discovering shocking facts about her mother, her illnesses, and her entire world as she unravels the mystery and finds shocking conclusions.

In 2018, director Aneesh Chaganty and his co-writer Sev Ohanian brought to the big screen "Searching," a film that showcased John Cho as a solid, serious actor as he plays a father who's searching for his missing daughter, a film shot almost entirely through the lens of a computer screen.  The film was unique in its storytelling, serving as a mystery that slowly unravels not just for Cho's character, but the audience as well.  We're left spellbound and piecing the clues together in a way like we're watching one of those several true crime shows on television, and the result is a riveting product.  While they take out the gimmick in "Run," Chaganty and Ohanian continue this trend of sleuthing that unravels for the audience as it does for the character, and even though it's a bit more predictable, it's  nonetheless effective due to the essentially two-women led thriller akin to "Misery" (a comparison none-withstanding, as the film itself offers numerous Easter eggs to Stephen King himself).

These actresses couldn't be more opposite, yet it's these opposites that truly attract, culminating in a powerful, meaningful film.  Sarah Paulson is a seasoned veteran, an actress who truly uses her expressions alone to portray a message that lines of dialogue could never get across.  She has a bubbling undercurrent of continual dread and volatile explosion, and uses this talent to full force in "Run."  As the seemingly doting, loving mother of a teenager suffering from various different diseases, Paulson balances this outward loving mentality with an inner turmoil and continuous paranoia that threatens to destroy that she claims to love most dear.

On the other end of the spectrum is Kiera Allen, who plays Diane's daughter Chloe.  Chloe is paralyzed, diabetic, and suffering from a myriad of other diseases that keeps her literally confined at home without Internet, human interaction, or anything else apart from Diane's constant doting, yet she also uses her brain in unique ways, exemplifying an intelligence way beyond her years.  What makes Kiera's performance so unique is twofold: she's actually paralyzed in real life (and serves as the only literally paralytic actress playing a paralyzed character since 1948's "The Sign of the Ram"), and this is her first feature film.  Acting alongside a great like Sarah Paulson is no easy feat even for an acclaimed actor, but to do it and this be your first major film is a daunting task, but Allen more than rises to the occasion. 

The story itself is somewhat linear and predictable for the most part, but manages to throw in some surprises here and there, again heralding to the greats like Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock in its superb storytelling, lifting itself from a cookie-cutter story due to the committed performances, sinister undertones, and its slowly unraveling mystery.

Proving that they're more than just one-trick ponies, Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian deliver another brilliant mystery in "Run," delivered with precision by two amazing actresses and offering a compelling, thought-provoking thrill ride from start to finish.

The Score: A+