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At Sundance, Run Amok Draws Mixed Reviews on Satire, Strong Notices for Lead

Critics highlight potent grief drama over inconsistent attempts at dark comedy.

Overview

  • Adapted from NB Mager’s short, the film follows a student who mounts a musical reenactment of a decade-old school shooting at her high school.
  • Festival-day reviews from outlets including Collider and FandomWire praise Alyssa Marvin’s performance and the film’s emotional core.
  • Both reviews question the movie’s tonal balance, saying the satire often misses and the visual style feels too conventional for the material.
  • FandomWire’s critique adds that recognizable adults such as Patrick Wilson, Molly Ringwald, Margaret Cho, and Bill Camp are largely underused.
  • In an IndieWire studio interview, Mager and cast described the project as a way for young people to pursue healing through art in a generation raised on lockdown drills.