Review: ‘Run’ (2020), starring Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen

January 2, 2021

by Carla Hay

Kiera Allen and Sarah Paulson in “Run” (Photo by Allen Fraser/Hulu)

“Run” (2020)

Directed by Aneesh Chaganty 

Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Pasco, Washington, the dramatic thriller “Run” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the middle-class.

Culture Clash: A wheelchair-bound teenager finds out that her overprotective mother might not have her best interests at heart.

Culture Audience: “Run” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in stories about mother-daughter relationships that have serious conflicts.

Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen in “Run” (Photo by Allen Fraser/Hulu)

The well-acted and taut thriller “Run” explores a very well-worn concept—a mother and a teenage daughter have a power struggle and become increasingly alienated from each other—and still manages to make it a captivating and enthralling story. Some of the movie’s plot twists and reveals are more predictable than others. However, the filmmakers seem very aware of the specific target audience for this type of movie and deliver the suspenseful moments that this audience expects.

“Run” is the second feature film directed by Aneesh Changaty, who made his feature-film directorial debut with the critically acclaimed 2018 thriller “Searching,” another intriguing movie about a relationship between a single parent and the parent’s only child, who is a teenage daughter. In “Searching,” a widowed father is on a desperate hunt to find his missing teenage daughter. In “Run,” the source of the tension is because the parent of the teenage daughter is clinging too much to her child.

The beginning of “Run” (which was written by Changaty and Sev Ohanian) shows a distraught mother in a hospital. She has just given birth to a premature baby, who is unhealthy enough that doctors are seen trying to resuscitate the child on an operating table. The mother is taken by wheelchair to see her newborn daughter in an incubator, where the baby is breathing through an oxygen tube.

A list of ailments is then listed on screen: arrhythmia (a heart problem); hemochromatosis (a bloodstream problem); asthma (a breathing problem); and paralysis (a muscle problem). And then, the story fast-forwards 17 years later to Pasco, Washington (a city about 226 miles east of Seattle), where single mother Diane Sherman (played by Sarah Paulson) and her 17-year-old daughter Chloe (played by Kiera Allen) live. Diane is the mother who was shown fretting over her sick baby in the movie’s opening scene.

Diane now belongs to a support group for parents of special-needs children. During a group meeting, she expresses some trepidation but also excitement about Chloe going to college and doing things that Diane hasn’t been able to do since Diane became a mother—partying and having fun. Diane mentions that Chloe (who is home-schooled) has applied to several colleges, and they’re waiting to find out which schools have accepted her.

At home in Diane and Chloe’s two-story house, it’s revealed that Chloe’s is a paraplegic in a wheelchair who is on numerous medications for her health problems. Chloe also has a very claustrophobic existence, because her mother controls every aspect of Chloe’s life. Chloe has no friends, and the only person she’s in contact with on a regular basis is her mother, who won’t allow Chloe to have a phone.

There’s no television or radio in the Sherman household. When Diane isn’t home, Chloe is locked inside the house. When Chloe goes outside, her mother always accompanies her. Diane never talks about Chloe’s father.

Diane doesn’t have a job other than taking care of Chloe, and so viewers can presume that Diane lives off of government assistance that’s provided for parents of kids with special needs. One day, Chloe discovers something very strange when she looks in a bag of groceries that her mother left in the kitchen. In the bag is a prescription bottle of pills that Chloe has been taking, but the bottle actually has Diane’s name on the bottle label.

When Chloe mentions this discrepancy to her mother, Diane gives the excuse that what Chloe saw was a receipt with Diane’s name, and the receipt was taped to the bottle. Observant viewers will immediately know that Diane is lying because what Chloe saw was clearly a label on the prescription bottle, not a taped receipt. The green and white pills in the bottle are supposed to be Trigoxin. It’s a fictional drug fabricated for this movie, but Trigoxin and its effects are very similar to the real-life drug Digoxin, which is heart medicine.

About 70% of “Run” has spoiler information that won’t be revealed in this review. But it’s enough to say that when Chloe tries to go on the Internet to get more details on Trigoxin, she finds out that the house computer has no Internet service. This sets off a chain of events where Chloe begins to suspect Diane of having secrets and ulterior motives. Meanwhile, Diane becomes increasingly controlling of Chloe.

People who are fans of Paulson’s work in the anthology TV series “American Horror Story” already know how well she can portray characters who seem harmless on the outside but might have very dark and disturbing secrets on the inside. It’s pretty obvious from the trailer for “Run” that Diane is going to end up being the villain of the story. The big mystery is: “What is Diane hiding and what’s going to happen to Chloe?”

Allen makes an impressive feature-film debut as the innocent and sheltered Chloe, who is book smart but definitely naïve compared to other typical 17-year-olds. However, Chloe has to grow up fast when reality starts to sink in that she might not be safe in her own home with her mother. The role of Chloe is physically and emotionally challenging, but Allen is able to convey acting range in all the right places to make a very believable and sympathetic heroine.

“Run” has plenty of mystery and suspense, but there are a few minor inconsistencies in the movie’s plot and characterizations. Chloe is obviously a smart and inquisitive child, so it seems a little strange that it took her so long to find out some of the secrets that she finds out in the movie. Chloe might be someone who spent almost all of her life passively following her mother’s orders, but it’s a little hard to believe that Chloe never thought about snooping around the house while her mother was away, until Chloe began to have suspicions about Diane because of the prescription discrepancy.

For example, even though the movie doesn’t reveal what Diane told Chloe about Chloe’s father, it’s hard to imagine that Chloe wouldn’t be curious enough to find out details about her father that Diane wouldn’t tell her. This curiosity would lead to Chloe looking for information around the house a lot sooner than she does in this story. There’s also another scene in a hospital that’s a tad far-fetched in how hospitals operate, in terms of hospital security.

These flaws don’t take away from the overall plot of “Run.” It’s definitely a movie for fans of “women in peril” stories. However, “Run” doesn’t come across as a generic TV-movie of the week, because the film has some artsy cinematography (by Hillary Spera) and better-than-average performances by the stars of the movie. (Lionsgate was going to release “Run” in cinemas, but then sold the movie to Hulu.) “Run” isn’t a masterpiece, and the movie has some ideas that are recycled from other films, but it’s a satisfying thriller for anyone intrigued by stories about one family member pitted against another.

Hulu premiered “Run” on November 20, 2020.

Sarah Paulson backstage at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards

January 30, 2017

by Carla Hay

The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards took place on January 29, 2017, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

SARAH PAULSON

SAG Award win:

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

(“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”)

Here is what this SAG Award winner said backstage in the SAG Awards press room.

Sarah Paulson at the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 29, 2017.
Sarah Paulson at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

Could you expand a bit on why you decided to comment on what you commented about tonight? Was it a tough decision or an easy decision?

No, it wasn’t a tough decision to come up with what I wanted to say. I am not an immigrant. I was born here, so in terms of how I can speak about it from a personal standpoint from my youth or something wasn’t available to me, so I just wanted to have an opportunity to mention the inclusivity that I think is required right now in general. The ACLU, to me, represents that sort of across the board, and they do really rely on funds from people like you and me. So at this time, it’s an odd thing because this has been a very celebratory time in my life, in terms of my work being recognized at the same time it’s sort of dovetailing with a very interesting time in our country.

And so even as I was getting ready tonight as excited as honored as I was, I felt the duality of the celebration and also the seriousness of people who are at JFK right now people, who are at LAX, people who are at airports all over the country. It just feels like a grave time. At the same time I also feel very honored and proud so I’m trying to find a place to put it where I can be celebratory and also give the day its appropriate weight.

In this time of women’s marches and whatnot, what did you take away from Marcia Clark?

Everything I possibly could. To me, she was and is an incredibly, smart, complicated—not without flaws—human woman and I find that very relatable. I too am full of flaws and complications, and sometimes I think more and more this is less true. Certainly on television, you are seeing such diverse complicated characters now more than you used to, but still what we’ve got going on outside of the entertainment industry sort of strikes a little bit of fear. I feel very honored to have played her, and I don’t know when I’ll come across a role like that again.

As an actor in this political climate, do you feel pressured to kind of make these statements?

I think we should all now be able to speak our minds as we see fit. I do think silence is not golden at this particular time. I do think if you have a platform in a place to say it with a large audience and you can reach further than you, then you should take the opportunity. But I don’t want anyone to feel that they’re failing if they’re not doing it or if they forget to or they get overwhelmed.

It’s what happens to you when you get up there. I could never have said this to you a year ago because I haven’t had the experience, but I have been getting up there more than I ever have. It is hard to keep your bearings, and when you feel the extra desire to communicate a larger world view, you do feel that that weight. But I think people should do whatever they’re moved to do in general.

What have all these accolades done for you as an actress?

Well, that’s hard too. That’s a blessing and a curse because now I fear the next time I come out of the gate with something people will be going, “Well that wasn’t as good as Marcia Clark.” But that’s just a normal human reaction to having some success.

I’m 42 years old, and I’ve been working for a long time, and I’ve certainly been employed and made my living as an actress for many, many years, but this is a whole new world that I’m living in, absolutely. And with that does come a whole new set of neuroses—at least for me particularly, where I do think, “Oh God, I hope I don’t disappoint next time I put something out there.”

John Travolta, Sarah Paulson and ‘The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ team backstage at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards

January 9, 2017

by Carla Hay

The 74th annual Golden Globe Awards took place on January 8, 2017, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

“THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY”

Golden Globe wins:

  • Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Sarah Paulson)

Here is what these Golden Globe winners said backstage in the Golden Globe Awards press room.

"The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" team at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards
“The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” team at the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 8, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

What was the most gratifying part of working on this project?

Nina Jacobson (executive producer): The collaboration amongst these actors was a remarkable gift. These are all actors who under any conditions would be first on a call sheet. They all have enormous star power and yet they all work together to support each other in a way that it was immensely demanding. They all just gave so much to each other, and that was very gratifying.

What was your initial reaction when you heard of the nomination?

Jacobson: We were thrilled and excited pretty excited.

John Travolta (co-star/producer): Well, it’s the icing on the cake. You guys are amazing. You are opinion leaders, so you’re approving of our series. If you hadn’t given us all these wonderful nominations and acknowledged to this depth it would have been a disappointing year. And we’ve been very lucky this year, but you made the year, so thank you.

Now that you’ve had almost a year since “The People v. O.J. Simpson” premiered, did it surprise you the depth of the chord that this struck about contributing to the conversation about race in America? And what would you say has surprised you about the resonance of this project?

Sterling K. Brown (co-star): Unfortunately, it’s not that surprising because the show is more relevant than what it should be. You would think in 20 years time in this country that things would have progressed to such a place where you look back and be like, “Oh, how interesting that was back then.” But back then is what’s happening right now and so the fact that a primarily African-American jury in Los Angeles could find fault with the police department is not that surprising. We’ve got a lot of ocular proof over the past two years of police misconduct—an institution that supposed to protect and serve—and a lot of people don’t always feel protected or served.

And so, I think it’s because of all of the things that we’ve been able to see that there’s a level of understanding that people may not have had 20 years ago when that jury made the decision that they did to acquit. I think what’s really beautiful about what our writers and producers created was that the conversation existed in such a way that people who were appalled with that decision now understood the other side and people who actually celebrated that decision got a chance to see the amount of evidence that the prosecution had and can actually say like, “Well, maybe that wasn’t exact the right approach either.” So hopefully, both sides started to understand each other and instead of just being in fights all the time.

What do you think O.J. Simpson would think about this TV series? And do you care?

Ryan Murphy (executive producer): I don’t think we care.

Jacobson: We have never met him.

Brad Simpson (executive producer): I think that when we were developing the show, the thing that we wanted is everybody to have insight to what these main characters went through, especially the prosecution and the defense to see the other side. That was the main concern.

We made something that had a lot of complexity; that was the objective of the show. We didn’t really think about O.J. Simpson, what he would think. It was mainly about the legal teams that we wanted to present. That was the objective.

Many people on the legal team are saying that they were little upset they weren’t interviewed by the actors. Can you talk about that?

Sarah Paulson (co-star): I can’t speak to that. I didn’t speak to Marcia [Clark] until I think we had completed Episode 7. We were not trying to tell the story from any of their particular points of view, in terms of their personal stakes in it. This was this was something that we were trying to shed light on that may not have always completely lined up with their opinion about what it was that happened. I don’t really know how to answer that exactly.

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