Run Amok started incredibly promising with an unique angle and a cast that is doing fantastic work. But it forfeits all hope with a third act that has no connective tissue and feels like endings haphazardly slapped together.
Run Amok, playing at the Sundance Film Festival, tackles a heavy subject with potential but soon squanders it in the name of sensationalism. There is too much whimsy mixed with dark moments that lack context as the film progresses. It’s like a dream rather than something real. Thanks to the contrast between how adults respond at home versus at school and the dialogue itself, Run Amok is less a teenager standing up to adults who ignore her and more a teen who suffered a tragedy 10 years ago, throwing tantrums because she does not get her way.
NB Mager (Quarantine, I Love You) both writes and directs the movie. It stars Alyssa Marvin (Trevor: The Musical) as Meg, a teenager living with her aunt, Val Parker, played by Molly Ringwald (Pretty in Pink, The Kissing Booth), uncle, Dan Parker, played by Yul Vazquez (The Lost Bus, Severance), and cousin, Penny, played by Sophia Torres (Pulse, ComeFind Me), after the death of her mother 10 years prior.
In recognition of the school shooting that took her mom’s life along with three others, the school plans a commemoration ceremony. Meg decides to put on a musical/re-enactment of the shooting. But as the date approaches, tensions increase with the school staff, fellow students, and her cousin.
Run Amok Has an Eccentric Hopeful Start
The introduction to Meg is strong and tells us about how she connects with those around her and what matters to her. She’s lugging a harp in a case on wheels down the street. Her cousin refuses to give her a ride. Then, she encounters Patrick Wilson’s (The Conjuring, Insidious) Mr. Shelby. He’s the music teacher who shot the shooter all those years ago, and he offers her a ride she initially rejects until he brings up her mom’s love for the harp.
So much conveyed in a short scene inspires hope. We learn she’s a loner, attached to the harp, lost her mom, etc. However, it seems that, like Meg, the story loses its plot. The beginning of the movie feels odd yet realistic, while its gallop to the end feels anything but.
Not Seeing the Adults Just Don’t Understand Aspect
There are moments at the beginning. In particular, when Meg brings up the idea to Principal Linda, played by Margaret Cho (I Want Your Sex, Queens of the Dead), she’s met with firm resistance. That moment was giving Daria and Jane were dealing with their principal for the art contest. However, that’s it. The biggest issue is moreso the difference in reactions at home and school.
At home, when Aunt Val voices criticism and challenges what Meg or Penny does, more often than not, Uncle Dan gently shuts down those sentiments. However, at school it is a different matter. Everyone has the right to seek their preferred form of catharsis. However, they should not foist their method on unsuspecting people without someone getting upset. While she suffered a tremendous loss, the story is not hers alone. Run Amok feels more confusing as it progresses.
A Pointless Parallel
In fact, the individual who seems to suffer from some form of trauma is the shop teacher, Mr. Hunt, played by Bill Camp (Drive-Away Dolls, The Burial). Given his trauma, I genuinely thought that the person who saved everyone 10 years ago might’ve been Mr. Hunt. The way it’s all portrayed gives that impression. But there’s nothing there. Then it seemed like a parallel about culpability as Mr. Hunt spirals, and no one bothers to help him. They only intervene when there’s a possibility of danger. But by the end, it doesn’t matter because it unravels.
Run Amok started incredibly promising with an darkly comedic angle and a cast that is doing fantastic work. But it forfeits all hope with a third act that has no connective tissue and feels like endings haphazardly slapped together. Rather than a cathartic ending, it’s a jarring mess. What Run Amok gives up in substance, it overcompensates for with its style.
