A bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness.
Chuck says:
Spiders a Moving Look at Mental Illness
The future is bright for Melanie (Stefania LaVoe Owen). She’s a straight A student, is getting ready to go across the country to college and has a new boyfriend. However, there’s one fly in the ointment – that would be her mother Dawn (Lili Taylor), a widow who’s suffering from paranoid delusions, a condition that’s getting much, much worse. She’s convinced that her neighbor is stalking her and that electronic waves are being directed at her head to scramble her brain. Oh, and she just lost her job. How can Melanie even think of leaving her in such a state?
Moving and at times harrowing, Paper Spiders effectively examines mental illness and the ripple effect it has on those close to the afflicted. Propelled by Taylor’s manic turn and the performance of Owen, a relative newcomer who displays a sense of grace and maturity far beyond her years, the women balance each other wonderfully. Director Inon Shampanier provides a steady hand in creating the sense of melancholy that never becomes too maudlin. To be sure, the film falters in the end but not enough to negate the genuine work that comes before. Available through Video-on-Demand.
3 Stars
