RUN AMOK IS BASED ON AN OSCAR-QUALIFYING SHORT FILM…

Run Amok is written and directed by NB Mager based upon her Oscar-qualifying short film of the same name. It follows a teenager named Meg, who upon the ten year anniversary of the shooting at her high school, which left her mother dead… decides to do a musical reenactment of the whole ordeal to try and come to terms with it.

Once hearing the synopsis of Run Amok, you would probably expect the film to be very dark and heavy. But, NB Mager’s movie, while having difficult subject matter its approaching, is actually a lot lighter and more upbeat than you would initially think. But, unfortunately that’s one of its many problems. Mager has a whole lot she wants to say in her film, about the state of society, how young people can feel oppressed by adults, and also how art can be an incredibly healing process. But, we’ve seen a lot of films recently about the healing power of art with Ghostlight, Sentimental Value, and Hamnet… all sensational films that make Run Amok just pale in comparison.

IT HAS SO MUCH TO SAY, BUT DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SAY IT…

The problem is is that Mager has so much she wants to say, but doesn’t know how to say any of it in a way that connects. So, all of the themes of Run Amok become muddled and confusing. There’s a subplot about our protagonist Meg getting close to the shooter’s mom later on in the film, that makes everything so much more convoluted. Mager also struggles with the tone of “Run Amok”, as well. She wants it to be a dark comedy, but it’s not funny at all. And pairing the provocative subject matter with a breezy atmosphere, lighthearted score and silly antics… makes it feel like “Matilda” with F-bombs. It just doesn’t work.

I will say that lead actress Alyssa Marvin is excellent as Meg. She is the only person who seems to understand the tone that the director is trying to reach, because every other actor in this film feels like they are in a different movie. But, Marvin exudes this kind of goofy tenacity and spitfire charisma that makes her a compelling lead. I also think an extended scene in Run Amok where the kids inside the musical are walking through the school hallways and reenacting the actual shooting play-by-play, is powerful and sobering stuff. It shows you that Mager did have something inspired in the conception of her film, but she just didn’t know how to pull it off.

IT FEELS LIKE A STUDENT FILM PROJECT…

I really wanted to like Run Amok, but it honestly feels like a student film project that wasn’t even fully realized. Mager has potential as a screenwriter and director because there are glimpses of greatness in her movie. But, this script needed at least a few more polishes and her ideas needed to be far more fleshed out before she adapted her short into a feature length film. I have to sadly say that this is one of the most misguided movies I have seen in a long time.

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