Run (2020) Review: Kiera Allen’s Amazing Debut Performance as a Disabled Actor!

Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian are back in action after delivering one of the best thriller films of the 2010s, which was Searching (2018). This time they reunite to write Run. Starring Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen. Sarah plays a mother who cares for her disabled, wheelchair-using daughter, played by Kiera. I’d argue that Kiera is the lead character, but of course, the marketing would put Sarah’s face and name first to promote the movie.

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Kiera Allen is a wheelchair user in real life, and the filmmakers intentionally looked for a disabled actor to play the character as they felt Hollywood has rarely ever cast disabled actors for disabled roles. This is certainly a big step for Hollywood as there have been issues with proper representation. For me, it doesn’t bother me that much if a non-disabled actor plays the role, as long as the depiction is accurate and the research is done right. But of course, if an actual disabled actor is cast, it’s a good thing to celebrate.

Coming from Kiera Allen herself, she approved of the depiction in this film and said that it is one of the best representations she’s seen. After thinking about it, even if she wasn’t a good actor, I think it’s still a great thing to celebrate because all actors are allowed to perform badly, and improve for future roles. That isn’t the case here, though because, Kiera was perfect, and I’d nominate her for an award. She steals every scene even when Sarah Paulson is in it.

The score and the editing were great alongside the cinematic atmosphere, I was immersed in the film, and it was intense. The secret was revealed cleverly and it was not much of what the secret was but more of a why it was kept. The pacing from start to finish fills up the 84 minutes runtime perfectly. I have some minor issues with the decisions the mother made that didn’t quite make sense, but it doesn’t pull away from the scary experience we had to go through with the daughter.

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The film has several easter eggs referencing Stephen King novels and including a character named Kathy Bates as a homage to the actor’s role in Misery (1990). There was a YouTube video that referenced Searching. It would be pretty epic if Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian make a shared universe between Searching and Run. It’s possible. Movies like Run deserve to be noticed. I haven’t seen a good thriller like this in recent years other than Searching or Dennis Villeneuve films. Watch ‘Run (2020)’ on Netflix here. 

Rating – 4.5/5 | Grade – A+

Review by Edwin
Follow Ed on Instagram – @eddictionzreviews