Paper Spiders

Inon Shampanier's 2021 film follows a high school senior preparing for university. Melanie's father has recently died, and her mother Dawn is developing an increasing paranoia, convinced their neighbour is following her and entering the house. The film tells mental illness not as an external diagnosis but as a daughter's process of losing her mother. Melanie believes her at first, then tries to persuade her, and finally has to choose between her own life and her mother's. Lili Taylor's Dawn is never made monstrous; the woman is afraid and her fear is coherent within its own logic. The film's most realistic quality is showing how hard treatment is to access; the system only engages at the point of crisis. Who it's for: those able to watch drama about mental health and family relationships. Who it's not for: viewers expecting resolution and recovery; the film promises neither.