Claire in Motion

An interesting drama about a tightly wound college professor, co-writers and co-directors Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell's Claire in Motion stars Betsy Brandt as Claire, whose husband, Paul (Chris Beetem), an ornithologist, vanishes during what is supposed to be a three-day hike. When a police investigation finds Paul's car still at the trailhead but no sign of Paul, Claire and her young son, Connor (Zev Haworth), enter a kind of stasis in which life slows to a crawl because of doubt and irresolution. How does one get through a day? Make decisions? Look ahead? With no evidence that Paul died, or intentionally disappeared, or met an unknown fate, closure becomes impossible. Claire and Connor begin to take baby steps toward growing and evolving, all the while feeling they are under the microscope of friends and colleagues who see them as hapless victims. Another layer of intrigue is added when Claire discovers that Paul had sides to his life he did not reveal to her, including a key relationship with an oddly aggressive artist (Anna Margaret Hollyman). Brandt shines in the title role, playing a deliberately colorless figure who is more at ease blending into the background than looking into the shadowy unknown. A fine character study built around a low-key mystery, this is recommended. (T. Keogh) (2016) Review | Lisa Robinson, Annie J. Howell