Run review: A disappointing and predictable movie Sarah Paulson should’ve skipped

When I first heard of the movie Run, I was immediately drawn to it both because of its star and its director. Like many people right now, I absolutely love actress Sarah Paulson and would probably watch anything she’s in, and I had previously been impressed by Aneesh Chaganty for his work on the 2018 film Searching, which he wrote and directed.

So yes, you could say I was a little bit hyped to watch Run, a Hulu Original. That said, we’ll get this out of the way right now: I am extremely disappointed with the movie I watched. Not only is it predictable, but it’s also rather comical in its exaggerated dialogue and storyline.

*Spoilers ahead.*

The film starts off somewhat strong, introducing Paulson’s character, a single mother named Diane, as already one to be aware of. She’s so peppy that it’s suspicious, and if you’ve seen this actress in other roles before, you’ll know she’s great at playing someone who’s not exactly in the right head space. (Looking at you, Nurse Ratched).

Diane’s daughter Chloe (played by Kiera Allen) was unfortunately born with a vast variety of diseases, meaning that she’s bound to a wheelchair and has to take multiple medications throughout the day. Chloe is excited to go to college, and eagerly awaits for the mail to come every day in hopes of receiving an acceptance letter.

As I mentioned, it’s made clear pretty early on that Diane has something sinister up her sleeve, and it surprisingly doesn’t take Chloe long to figure it out either. How and why Chloe conveniently decides she would figure out what’s really going on—when her mom had been lying to her basically her whole life—is beyond me, but a lot of the plot isn’t quite convincing.

Unfortunately, Run is extremely heavy-handed in that once you figure something out, one of the characters will make it painfully obvious. While the movie is rated PG-13 and not R, it’s certainly not for children. Any adult or mature teenager who’s barely paying attention would be able to figure out the big reveal the story is getting at.

So, what is the big reveal? It’s obvious from the beginning. Diane is actually lying to Chloe about her alleged diseases and disorders, and instead has been making her believe that she’s paralyzed by giving her medicine that would make her sick.

Sound familiar? Yeah, because there’s tons of titles out already that are pretty much exactly like this. Munchausen syndrome by proxy, otherwise known as factitious disorder, seems to be a popular topic in movies and TV shows as of late. In addition to Run, you’ll see it covered in HBO’s Sharp Objects, the horror movie Ma, and of course, The Act on Hulu.

This topic being used in movies is far from new, as you might remember a similar story being told in The Sixth Sense (1999) involving Mischa Barton’s character. However, it does seem like Munchausen syndrome by proxy is now the popular thing to write into a script for whatever reason.

That being said, it’s not the fact that Run is about a mother who makes her child sick that makes it a weak movie. Similar plot points can be used time and time again if they’re done right. The poor execution, however, is really the nail in the coffin for this movie.

Once Chloe figures out that her mom had been lying to her, she conveniently stumbles upon old files which contain an even bigger reveal: Diane is not actually her mom at all. Through newspaper clippings and a death certificate, we find out that Diane’s real baby sadly died soon after she was born, and then Diane stole a baby from the hospital.

To be honest, this scene might have been one of the most captivating to me as I was watching, as it turns Diane into an even bigger villain than she already was. However, at that point I was already treating it as a silly bad movie that’s slightly fun to go along with and laugh at. It’s an entertaining addition to the story, but it’s not groundbreaking.

And finally, the ending of the movie. It’s just terrible. I’ll leave it at that.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of Sarah Paulson and I do think her acting is up to par in Run. I have no complaints with Kiera Allen’s acting, but I do think the lines she has to deliver are pretty weak.

Is Run on Hulu worth watching?

If you couldn’t tell by now, I did not enjoy this movie. I unfortunately had expectations that Run would be at least decent, but it turned out to be extremely predictable and unoriginal. The premise was fine, but the execution seriously failed.

If you’re on the fence about tuning in, I would say skip it. It’s not offensively terrible, but it’s kind of a waste of time. The only reason I would recommend this one is if you’re looking for something as background noise.

Sarah Paulson, I’m sorry; I still love you! However, Run is just meh.

If you’re still interested in checking out the movie, it drops November 20, 2020 on Hulu.