Review by Brad Balfour
Film: “The Outrun”
Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Saskia Reeves, Stephen Dillane,
Given its premise, “The Outrun” could have been a thoroughly mediocre film, just another retelling of an alcoholic’s road to recovery. But thanks to the critical response to Irish actor Saoirse Ronan’s complex, moody reenactment of one addict’s process of building a life after alcoholism, a serious re-consideration of this film is now taking place.
Adapted from British journalist Amy Liptrot’s recovery memoir, this intense character study of an alcoholic student who returns home in search of sobriety resists either being dreary or depressing. Set on the remote island of Orkney on the northern Scotland coast and in London, it alternates between the bleakness of that cold region and the sweaty heat of the British capital with its plethora of clubs and cafes — perfect places to nurture an alcoholic habit. But it’s the isolation of the North that alternately offers the isolation alcoholics yearn for and the cooling environment that might help one clear their head to cope with a life afetr drink.
Within this framework, German director places Ronan in a range of experiences which offer insight and infuriating denial. Until she’s descends into such vulnerability that she get sexually assaulted — something that seemed inevitable given how risky she was being. By telling this narrative in a non-linear fashion, going back and forth between locations and past/present, Ronan is given space to demonstrate self-revelatory moments through gesture, voice-over narrative, subtle glances and expressive action.
“The Outrun” is a sufficiently grounded film to avoid the magical-realist thinking that has been infused in the story telling of Rona’s existence. This rugged character study is ultimately a story about one person’s ability to transform after being freed from the grip of intoxication. Once she does, her character is able to find new interests in the natural world which surrounds her.
Fingscheidt’s nonlinear approach allows for an unpredictability and freedom to the film so that it keeps from being just another story of addiction. And Ronan’s committed performance allows for the ebbs and flows of time and place to form a engaging experience for both her character and the audience’s.