Misery loves company

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This article was published 07/04/2021 (1639 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg actress Sharon Bajer has a small part in the locally lensed movie Run, which is now playing on Netflix after a few months of being denied a Canadian audience on the American service Hulu.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Bajer’s character is named “Kathy Bates.” Since the movie stars Sarah Paulson, one might assume this is a homage to Paulson’s co-star from the Ryan Murphy TV series American Horror Story.

But it’s more specifically a shout-out to the role that won Bates an Oscar in the 1991 movie Misery, Annie Wilkes, a presumed helper who turns out to be a psycho.

Director Aneesh Chaganty, who co-wrote the script with Sev Ohanian, adds a familial twist to the hostage dynamics of that Stephen King adaptation, exploring the relationship of Diane Sherman (Paulson) and her daughter Chloe, played by real-life wheelchair user Kiera Allen, making an impressive movie debut.

Diane is apparently one of those self-sacrificing moms who lives for her child. Chloe is in need of lots of attention: not only is she paraplegic, she has a host of other challenges, including asthma and diabetes.

Fortunately, Chloe is a plucky one, determined to make a break from home by applying to a multitude of universities. But by tiny increments, Chloe comes to the realization that her mom may not be entirely on board with her daughter’s ambitions.

Chaganty made a name for himself with the 2018 thriller Searching, starring John Cho as a father trying to find his missing daughter via her internet search history. If Searching was a more experimental, stylish thriller, Chaganty is going for something more classical, even Hitchcock-esque, with a story exploring a darker, more selfish aspect of parenting.

He proves to be quite adept indeed. Large sections of the film have little to no dialogue, as Chloe comes to the realization she is a prisoner in the house she always assumed was home. The stuff of everyday life — doors and windows and the wheelchair stair lift — suddenly become barriers that will require all of Chloe’s smarts to get beyond.

Other films with similar stories — from Jessica Lange’s 1998 thriller Hush or Tallulah Bankhead in the tawdry 1965 shocker Die! Die! My Darling! — have veered into campy territory.

But this film is comparatively restrained, anchored by good, solid work from both Paulson and especially Allen, who manages to keep it real through what must have been an unnerving number of closeups.

Of course, since the film was shot in Manitoba, standing in for Washington State, eagle-eyed viewers will notice a few local actors, including Eric Athavale, Cory Wojcik, Onalee Ames and Bajer, who gets a decent laugh in the throwaway role of a pharmacist.

But it’s the atmosphere of the piece that truly impresses. As in the 2019 movie Fractured — another exploration of dubious parenting skills — the wintry Manitoba landscapes are beautifully bleak and remote, and oh, so horror-appropriate.

A Manitoban watching this movie will be able to relate to Chloe’s predicament, in which familiar surroundings are suddenly overlayed with existential menace.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing