Intense and intensely unpredictable, “Control Freak” sees Kelly Marie Tran’s self-help mogul let go of the control and dive deep into the freak.
Tran’s Valerie is a global guru, pitching self-worth via self-help as a motivational speaker. But while put together and organized, there’s an itch in the back of her head that’s always there, no matter how often she scratches.
And then, in her palatial digs, creeps the occasional ant. What’s happening here?
“I was interested in horror as a genre. And the film’s theme of generational trauma is one that feels very much part of my life. So we went from there,” Tran, 36, allowed in a Zoom interview.
Valerie is obsessed with hiding things – like that itchy scalp. And while she’s so encouraging of those who flock to her pep talks, isn’t she filled with fear?
“Absolutely. That’s such an interesting part of the way she lives her life. There’s this duality where she has this one part where she feels she needs to project this image of perfection, of having everything together. Of knowing what she’s doing.
“Then there’s this other part of herself that she just is not ready to acknowledge, much less confront.
“Those two things effectively let us see who she’s presenting and who she actually is. I know a lot of people like that,” Tran confided. “And I definitely used them as inspiration for the things that she’s dealing with.
“Val will do anything to continue to acquire these status ideals in her mind. Unfortunately, what she learns by the end, hopefully, is the idea that you can’t run away from these other parts of your identity.
“You must focus on the parts that you want other people to think that you are because it’s going to bleed into all areas of your life.
“By the end, she’s able to confront a lot of parts of herself that she has been too afraid to address subconsciously. And she didn’t even know that she needed to address that.”
While outsiders see Val’s marriage as ideal, that’s far from the reality.
“Val is very much someone who’s pushing her partner away, who is refusing to accept love. She cannot love herself — and therefore she’s unable to be vulnerable with her partner.
“It’s pretty detrimental to the health of their relationship. He’s calling her out on some of the things she’s doing — and she refuses to acknowledge her behavior.
“That, unfortunately, is the sort of dynamic that a lot of people can understand and can relate to.
“I think,” she said with a rueful smile, “everyone has one bad relationship.”
“Control Freak” streams on Hulu March 13