• Release year: 2024
• Director: Nora Fingscheidt.
• Producers: Sarah Brocklehurst, Jack Lowden, Dominic Norris and Saoirse Ronan.
• Screenplay by: Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot.
• Cinematography by: Yunus Roy Imer.
• Music by: John Gürtler and Jan Miserre.

Shotgun Commentary: depressing but really beautiful. It does overstay its welcome a bit, but not annoyingly so.

Review

The Outrun is the cinematic adaptation of the homonymous book by Amy Liptrot, where she bares her life to her readers. The story follows Rona (Saoirse Ronan), a woman approaching her thirties who has a severe drinking problem. After reaching rock bottom several times, she decides to fight her addiction and go back home, to the Orkney Islands.

Whilst London is portrayed as a den of iniquity full of drugs, violence, sex of doubtable consent, and seas of alcohol, Orkney is more of a sanctuary. This is where Rona escapes to find herself and a reason to get better. Essentially, the film is a great Highlands advertisement, where the freezing cold bit is essentially ignored.

Poetry VS reality

The story revolves around Rona and her addition, the probable causes, triggers, and her reasons to try to get better. The use of mythology to indirectly and subtly bring a supernatural reason for Rona’s behaviour is very imaginative. In fact, the idea is so great that it risks romanticising a horrible situation that has enslaved Rona.

Thankfully, the feature doesn’t shy away from the most horrible, cringe-worthy, toxic circumstances either. It makes up for the selkie idealisation of alcoholism, with some hardcore, real-life-rooted realities. Additionally, it shows how this disease affects those around Rona. How her partner and friends slowly distance themselves from her to avoid being collateral damage, much like it happens with any addict; and in turn, how she was once one of those victims, with her addiction being the collateral damage.

Rotten roots

Coming from a dysfunctional household, it is not a surprise that Rona inherited the same unhealthy patterns as her parents. Mental health is a big theme in the movie, and specially in terms of family relationships and how each of the individuals copes with the others. It is a fact that unless a kid receives proper therapy, he is very likely to repeat or develop unhealthy patterns of behaviour if they grow up in a toxic environment. In Rona’s case, alcoholism as a way to deal with her feelings.

You can really notice that the narrative is based on a real life story in the fact that she stills loves her parents and they, her. Regardless of how terrible whatever either of them do, they look out for each other as only family does. Besides, they annoy each other as only relatives can. Rona realising that her mother has told all her friends about her life and getting frustrated beyond words is such a universally relatable detail that just can’t be made up.

Looks are(n’t) everything

The cinematography is gorgeous. There is no other way to describe it. If you have ever been to the Highlands, you know exactly why this is. However, as easy as it is to make a beautiful film in the Orkney, the pleasing aesthetics are maintained during the London scenes too. Even in the most horrible of moments, the film has a clean, sharp style with contrasting colour palettes that reflect the mood of the moment, adding an alluring vibe to the whole tale.

Sadly, the strive for stunning aesthetics gets too much in the final scene. During this sequence of revelation/climax/closure, Rona syncs with the movements of the sea. This is when the sound department shines bright with a hair-rising melody that accompanies perfectly everything that is happening on screen, adding gravity and rhythm to it. However, it is also the moment when the editing gets quite confusing.

Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to different moments in time. Some of these scenes are of unknown chronological order due to the lack of specific details to place them. However, they still work as they are part of Rona’s memories and one never remembers in chronological order necessarily. Still, the issue with this last part is the meaning behind the sequence.

One assumes that it is a way to express the joy that Rona is finally capable of feeling whilst sober, since she has now found a purpose that excites her. Yet, considering all the previous similar scenes that you have witnessed, and the fact that some London moments are thrown into the mix, it could just as well mean that she has completely lost it, not that she has made peace with her past. Whether that is intentional or not is unclear. But the scene during the final credits points to that sequence’s ambiguity being a complete accident.

Cast and final thoughts

Needless to say, Saoirse Ronan is fantastic in this film. She embodies Rona and completely disappears in her struggle, offering a heartbreaking, but hopeful portrayal of the protagonist’s life. As for Rona’s parents, Annie (Saskia Reeves) and Andrew (Stephen Dillane), they have no problem stepping into Ronan’s level, producing one of the most realistic and tragic portrayals of a family in cinema while avoiding any needless exaggeration.

Paapa Essiedu as Daynin also had his work cut out for him with some of the most intense scenes of the film, at the edge of falling flat, he delivers a pretty decent performance, managing to stay somewhat relevant in the wake of Ronan’s blast of talent.

All in all, The Outrun is a melancholic tale of a young woman addicted to alcohol who fights to break free from her disease and seeks refuge from her past in the quiet of the Highlands. The main subject is quite tough, but the film also touches upon some other societal issues lightly, offering some variety in its message. The visuals are gorgeous and the acting fantastic. The pace is a bit off and some moments feels like a repetition of things you’ve already seen, but the editing might be the only main flaw in an otherwise engaging account.

Thanks to EIFF 2024 for big screen access!

Advice to take from this movie:

• Remember: being an addict for a bit is only feasible if you are rich. If you aren’t, it’s pretty much a life sentence.
• There is a time to use flashbacks and a time to hold back. One must recognise both if one’s story is to be clear and concise.
• You can’t help an addict who doesn’t want help, it doesn’t matter how much you love them.

What’s your take? Have you watched The Outrun? Did you connect to it? What was your takeaway?

Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀