Karrie Crouse and William Joines co-direct this screenplay by Crouse about Margaret Bellum (Sarah Paulson), a mother living on a devastated Oklahoma farm at the height of the Dust Bowl. Her husband’s away, leaving Margaret alone to care from their daughters, Rose (Amiah Miller) and deaf Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins). Another daughter, Ada, died and is buried in the yard, casting a pall over the home. The psychological horror film threads the needle between madness and the paranormal, thanks to a book the girls are reading about the Grey Man, who disappears into the dust. If someone breaths him in, he makes them do “terrible things.”Â
The entire affair is rich with atmosphere. The plains are desolate, and Margaret’s increasing paranoia puts her at odds with her community. She’s having trouble sleeping, has horrible dreams when she does, and sleepwalks, imagining a false reality. Has she breathed in the Grey Man or is she crazy? Things become more complicated when a drifter, Wallace Grady (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) shows up, claiming to be a preacher and healer and offering to help around the farm.
Paulson is fantastic in the role, playing Margaret with a remarkable nuance. Likewise, Moss-Bachrach vacillates between compassion and menace. Dark stuff! (94 min.)
—Glen Starkey
This article appears in Oct 17-27, 2024.
