Run Rabbit Run (2023) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie takes place primarily in Sarah's family home, which serves as the main backdrop for the emotional and psychological tensions. A secondary but significant location is an assisted living facility where Mia's estranged grandmother Joan resides, becoming pivotal to the mother-daughter relationship.

• setting
• locations
• home
• assisted living facility

Run Rabbit Run is set in contemporary times, reflecting modern family issues like divorce, co-parenting challenges, and current approaches to mental health and parenting.

• contemporary
• modern
• time period
• era

The film centers on Sarah's complex relationship with her daughter Mia, exploring how Sarah's past traumas and mental health struggles impact her ability to connect with and protect her child. The mother-daughter bond is tested by unresolved grief and supernatural elements that blur reality.

• motherhood
• mother-daughter relationship
• parenting

Trauma is a driving force in the narrative, with Sarah haunted by memories of her sister Alice and childhood events that continue to affect her present. This unresolved trauma influences her interactions with Mia and contributes to the deteriorating family dynamics.

• trauma
• past
• memories
• childhood

Identity emerges through Mia's journey of self-discovery as she grapples with family history and her sense of self. Her fascination with the rabbit persona reflects her search for connection and understanding of her family's troubled past.

• identity
• self-discovery
• rabbit
• character development

The film explores Sarah's deteriorating mental state through hallucinations and psychological distress, depicting how unresolved trauma and grief strain her ability to parent effectively. Her scientific worldview clashes with disturbing realities she cannot rationalize.

• mental illness
• mental health
• hallucinations
• psychology

Sarah is a divorced fertility doctor portrayed by Sarah Snook, who becomes increasingly unstable as supernatural events and her traumatic past collide. She struggles with unresolved grief over her sister while trying to protect her daughter Mia from unknown threats.

• Sarah
• protagonist
• fertility doctor
• mother

Mia is Sarah's young daughter, portrayed by Lily LaTorre, whose innocent fascination with rabbits develops into troubling behavior. She seeks connection with her estranged grandmother Joan while exhibiting signs of emotional distress that reflect her family's hidden trauma.

• Mia
• daughter
• child
• rabbit

Joan is Mia's estranged grandmother, portrayed by Greta Scacchi, who suffers from dementia and lives in an assisted living facility. Her presence stirs deep emotions in Sarah and challenges Mia's understanding of her family's complicated history.

• Joan
• grandmother
• elderly
• facility

Peter is Mia's father and Sarah's ex-husband, portrayed by Damon Herriman. He attempts to provide stability and mediate family conflicts, representing the challenges of co-parenting after divorce while navigating his daughter's disturbing behavior.

• Peter
• father
• ex-husband
• co-parenting

The movie examines fractured family relationships including divorce, estrangement between generations, and the ripple effects of past traumas. Sarah's relationship with Mia is strained by her own unresolved grief, while Mia seeks answers about her family history through her grandmother Joan.

• family
• divorce
• relationships
• estrangement

The film blends psychological horror with supernatural elements as Mia's strange behavior suggests forces beyond the natural world. Sarah's scientific worldview is challenged as she confronts disturbing realities that may be supernatural, psychological, or both.

• supernatural
• horror
• psychological
• strange behavior