The Outrun showcases Saoirse Ronan at her best, depicting Amy Liptrot’s raw and compelling memoir about her journey getting sober amid her home terrain of Orkney. Full of raw and compelling performances, it’s perfectly complemented with natural sound and dance beats.
★★★★★
TW: Sexual violence
Chronologically, The Outrun (2024) skips back and forth between Rona’s (Saoirse Ronan) present in Orkney whilst she tries to get sober, with snippets from the past of her relationship with Daynine (Paapa Essiedu) and her challenges with alcoholism. It is a raw, upward struggle, and as an adaptation of Liptrot’s book, they manage the deeply personal content with an explosion of sound and visuals to showcase Rona’s self-imposed isolation, the Scottish landscape of Orkney, and Rona’s evolving character to form a transportative piece of cinema.
Like in any piece based on a true story, performance holds plenty of weight in the narrative, and The Outrun is no exception. Ronan artfully embodies Rona’s resilience, the ups and downs of surviving sexual violence, and does so with compassion and honesty. There were real AA members and Orkney residents featured in the Bible group; the bid to commemorate the place and stay true to Liptrot’s story is shown through these touches. Nabil Elouahabi had a standout moment as Samir, utilising his few minutes within the narrative to offer a hopeful glimpse and humanising moment for those facing addiction.
Ronan is powerful leading the The Outrun, using minimal dialogue to convey plenty. Similarly to her previous roles (take her character in Brooklyn or On Chesil Beach), Ronan speaks volumes in her movement and pauses. As well as these moments of weight and emotion, the script ensured Rona had moments of normalcy that Ronan delves into; in the struggle to find the endangered corncrake, the small talk throughout her time in Orkney and Papay, in the shared glances in her meeting with Daynin, and even the solitary Christmas Day dinner. Stephen Dillane and Saskia Reeves as Andrew and Annie (Rona’s parents) also perform well as these imperfect figures striving to be there for their daughter with their own struggles and hopes.
Though comparable in tone to Aftersun in subtlety and a focus on a hard-fought journey, it has an underlying hope despite the sometimes distressing scenes. In those moments where Rona is dancing around her one room house in Papay, to her indulging in paired dancing in the town hall, or even her cold sea dip on Christmas Day. The Outrun manages to cram so much of Rona’s evolving personality and joys into this film, you can see the real changes taking over as she goes on this evolution and the continual struggle. Each happy moment makes you grin and feel such joy for Rona, and you can feel the revival in Rona’s personality bit by bit.
The musical score is a surprising highlight of The Outrun. With some upbeat tunes, and some rhythmic sound that blends into the violent winds, rainfall and surf, you aren’t left in silence for long despite the focus on Rona’s solitary journey. The musical score works in tandem with the landscape. No wonder, as Nora Fingschiedt, the director, comments on picking historical instruments and naturally-stemming instruments for the most organic sound. After all, film is an audio-visual experience and never has that been more apparent than in this film.
The Verdict
It is difficult to fault this film; it is carefully constructed, with compassion to Amy Liptrot’s story, and her intimate involvement and Ronan’s producing and starring credits show this film has many loving hands guiding it. And though it could have been hard to conclude, The Outrun manages it perfectly, weaponising sound for a solid send-off. The Outrun takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, and you feel completely at the mercy of the director and Ronan’s performance until the very end.
Words by Annabel Smith
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