In a society where that sees so many events centred around alcohol means it’s often a tremendous struggle to turn down a drink. Our own efforts to get our Editor to cut down on his drinking saw us buying him shandy when it was our round only for him to tell us, ‘I don’t drink cocktails!’ (‘You’re fired’ – Ed). The Outrun is based on the autobiographical book by Amy Liptrot who co-writes the screenplay here and is the story of Rona (Saoirse Ronan) who has spent her twenties in London living the party life and gradually subsumed by alcoholism. She returns to her native Orkney Islands in a bid to conquer her addiction where the grey skies, the roaring seas and the bleak wildness of the islands is in stark contrast to her colourful party life in London.
The first half of the film flits back and fore with her increasing dependence on alcohol fuelling a troublesome lifestyle accelerating a deteriorating relationship that is wholly her own fault and set against an unsettled childhood with her parents. Her father (Stephen Dillane) suffers from terrible bipolar episodes that drives her mother (Saskia Reeves) away to embrace her Christian faith and Rona having returned home does her best to engage with both whilst at the same commits to battling her own alcoholic demons that sees her embrace her interest in local wildlife backed by her Masters degree in biology. It sees her move to one of the most remote of the Orkney Islands where she rents a tiny lone house in a rugged colour drained windswept landscape that’s the polar opposite of her London life.
Directed by Nora Fingscheidt , The Outrun avoids the clichés of the recovering alcoholic in an engrossing drama centred by a remarkable performance. The harsh existence of Rona’s self imposed solitary existence is oddly comforting and there’s a banging soundtrack that brilliantly compliments to so many of the scenes. It is a truly tremendous performance by Saoirse Ronan , in turn serene and introspective, the next the wild drunken party girl managing to swerve that ‘ acting drunk’ manhole that many others might have fallen down. It’s little wonder that for such a young actress she already has four Oscar nominations to her name and her tremendous turn here deserves recognition.
related feature : Saoirse Ronan stars in ‘See How They Run’ – REVIEWed here
related feature : Actor James Dreyfus talks about his career, favourite films & future roles!
Here’s The Outrun trailer…..
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