Run Rabbit Run

Upon my second viewing, I found my initial impression mirrored that of others: the film was confusing, populated by unlikable characters, and painfully slow. Numerous unexplained elements left me puzzled: who is Joan, who is Alice, and why the rabbit?

However, after stumbling upon a review that provided insight into the movie's plot, I decided to give it a second chance, this time with undivided attention.

During my first watch, the film felt like an arduous three-hour affair. Yet, on revisiting it, the runtime seemed more akin to a concise one hour and ten minutes.

The movie promptly delves into character establishment, requiring viewers to be attentive from the opening scene. Inferences play a significant role, as some details only fall into place after the film concludes, revealing its cleverness.

We learn early on that the protagonist's mother is a doctor, a fact established in a brief scene. Although seemingly insignificant at first, it becomes relevant later when her lack of medical action in a crucial moment raises eyebrows. This serves as the first hint that something is amiss.

Furthermore, the story takes place on the daughter's seventh birthday, a detail that disturbs the mother from the outset. The reasons behind this unsettling reaction are not immediately clear.

As the movie progresses, the daughter's peculiar behavior raises questions: is she possessed or trying to make sense of her mother's bizarre actions? Could she be a victim of bullying, either at home or school?

By paying close attention, we notice that the mother faces issues during the daughter's birthday party. Her ex-husband asks about her well-being and urges her to inform him if she feels unwell. Towards the end, she indeed contacts him, admitting her distress, and he rushes to her aid.

Before reaching this point, however, the film sets the stage with a short medical scene, establishing the mother as a doctor. As she and her daughter arrive home, an impending storm looms, foreshadowing trouble. They find the garage open, boxes inside, and a white rabbit waiting on the doorstep—an immediate source of fascination for the daughter. Later that evening, the mother attempts to get rid of the rabbit, expressing her disdain for it. In the process, the rabbit bites her, leaving a lingering wound. From the window above, the daughter observes this incident, leading her to wear a rabbit mask the following day. The mother becomes increasingly disturbed by this behavior. What is her aversion to rabbits, and why does her daughter hide behind the mask?

We discover that the mother's father has passed away, and the daughter, Mia, misses him. It becomes evident that the mother is estranged from her own mother, Joan (whose identity is initially unknown), when Mia expresses her longing to meet her grandmother. Mia confesses to always missing people she has never met, a sentiment that gains clarity later on. The mother reacts with great distress. Is Mia possessed, or could she be a reincarnation?

Earlier, we witness Joan sending a birthday card to Mia, which the mother promptly burns. She also receives phone calls she rejects, lying to her daughter about the identity of the caller. When Mia jokingly suggests a ghost might be calling, the mother becomes alarmed.

Reluctantly, the mother finally answers a call from the nursing home where Joan resides due to her dementia. With her father no longer around, the responsibility of Joan's care falls on the mother's shoulders. Reluctantly, she takes Mia to meet her grandmother for the first time.

Upon meeting Mia, Joan immediately believes that the granddaughter is her long-lost daughter, Alice. Mia responds by affirming her identity as Alice, unsettling the mother further. Joan and Mia are forcefully separated, and the mother hastily leaves. Mia continues to insist she is Alice, as her grandmother claimed, intensifying her mother's distress.

Joan remains confined to the nursing home, unable to return to the house she occupied while awaiting her daughter's return. Mom and her dad had moved away while he maintained contact with his wife and her needs.

The mother subsequently visits the old house to tidy up but finds herself descending further into the trauma surrounding her missing sister. She begins to see her sister's presence and perceives Mia as a reflection of her sister. Despite vehement objections, Mia occupies Alice's former room.

The mother is plagued by distressing dreams that grow increasingly vivid. One particular nightmare involves her sister. The line between reality and the dream blurs, and the mother's actions mimic what occurred to Alice, causing us to question whether the events in the "dream" are actual occurrences that she has reenacted with Mia. Pictures she had removed from the walls inexplicably reappear. Mia sustains a head injury and nosebleeds. Frantically, the mother grabs a pair of scissors and violently attempts to cut Mia's hair to inspect the wound. In a fit of desperation, she yells, "Who's hurting you?" The child, truly frightened, fights back, and while the head wound disappears, real cuts appear on her arms. The mother is clearly witnessing nonexistent entities.

The next day, Mia is missing, and the father arrives, banging on the door. The mother awakens as if in a trance, having been lying on the floor, sketching something black—a door. Earlier, disturbing drawings were discovered on the back of Mia's homework, seemingly created by a child. The mother, despite being informed of these drawings at school, fails to address the issue, assuming Mia is being bullied. She also finds disturbing drawings in a library book, which Mia denies having made. Upon inspecting Mia's drawings, the mother realizes they contain the same unsettling imagery, yet takes no action. All these events unfold in the house, implying that the mother may have engaged in activities without recollection, thereby exacerbating Mia's distress and potentially explaining her past and future behaviors. Now, back to the ending.

In the final revelation, we learn that the mother herself was responsible for the drawings. The traumatic memory of killing her sister at the age of seven resurfaces, causing her to spiral into denial. It becomes evident that she had a strained relationship with her sister and lacked the protective instincts of an older sibling. She may have even subjected her own daughter, Mia, to similar treatment, such as playing hide-and-seek but never seeking her, mirroring her past actions with Alice. At some point, she confined Alice, likely during a game of hide-and-seek, and when Alice managed to escape, the mother, in a fit of rage, attacked her with a heavy object. Mia's injuries and nosebleeds echo those inflicted upon Alice—though it remains uncertain whether they are real or imagined.

When the mother hallucinates Alice's return, it is, in reality, Mia assuming her sister's role. The mother mistakenly believes she has pushed Mia off the same cliff where Alice met her demise. Additionally, she may have killed her ex-husband upon his arrival, as she hallucinates them searching for Mia and finding her alive. In a delusional state, the mother jumps into the water, and while she believes she sees Alice's body, it might have actually been Mia's lifeless form. As mentioned before, the mother later cradles Mia in her arms. The room is in disarray, and she falls asleep. The final morning arrives, and Mia eerily slips out of her grasp, confirming Mia's death, with her body having been placed in the bed.

Another aspect to consider is the enigmatic presence of the rabbit. It is plausible that the mother brought the rabbit home and left the garage open. The husband mentions noticing the open garage and boxes, containing pictures of Alice, the mother, Joan, and the now deceased father, while checking on the children during the early stages of the birthday party. Since the husband did not leave the garage open, it must have been the mother's doing. Throughout the movie, the rabbit constantly appears, leading us to question its reality or if it is merely a figment of the mother's imagination. There is no further interaction between Mia and the rabbit, leaving us to ponder whether the mother killed it and burned it, along with the birthday card, and if Mia witnessed these events.

Furthermore, we eventually discover that Alice had a fondness for animals, while the mother did not hesitate to accompany her husband on rabbit trapping excursions. These details may point to a sociopathic nature, displaying a lack of regard for living beings, including her own sister. Alice had a habit of bringing home stray animals like rabbits, dogs, and even a bird (the mother believes she hit a bird while driving to the nursing home).

In conclusion, the film explores the consequences of keeping secrets from children, leading them to construct their own versions of reality. Mia's actions may have been influenced by her mother's traumatic past and her struggle with mental and emotional issues. Mia's peculiar behavior might also have stemmed from the family's unresolved secrets and the lack of transparent explanations. She grew up as an only child, residing in a gloomy house without pets and seemingly lacking friends, as no one attended her small birthday gathering.

By skillfully revealing fragmented pieces of information and intricately weaving the narrative, the movie gradually unravels the intricate web of family secrets and psychological turmoil, inviting viewers to question their own perception of truth and the impact of hidden traumas on individuals and their relationships.