The Outrun (dir. Nora Fingsheidt)
By: Adam Freed
The wisdom of simplicity manifests itself in the Serenity Prayer offered at every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. The mantra asks of a higher power for a peaceful mind capable of realizing the difference between the things that can and cannot be changed about oneself, and the ability to better shape those aspects that remain malleable. The Outrun, based on Amy Liptrot’s powerful addiction memoir, paints the picture of a young lady, Rona, who lives a life fractured by addiction. German writer and director Nora Fingsheidt weaves the nonlinear tale in a fashion that allows cause, effect, and everything beyond to play out simultaneously as the dramatic and sincere film lifts itself from the doldrums of depravity into the heights of hope.
The Outrun, a film set primarily on the hostile edge of the North Sea, attacks by trident, offering three unique avenues through which the film, at times, reaches lofty heights. First is the undeniable screen aura of Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, Brooklyn), the Irish dynamo who once again, wields her unmistakable gift of conveying a broad range of emotions without need for heaping portions of dialogue. It feels almost inhuman that Ronan is blessed with such steadfastness and nobility despite only being 30 years old. Her gifts work to the benefit of her character Rona, who lived a hard and fast life in London prior to committing herself to an attempt at sobriety. Saoirse Ronan acts a multiplier when she is layered upon the film’s unforgettable setting, the Scottish Orkney Islands, a remote and desolate archipelago in which sheep far outnumber people. The film’s rustic backdrop completes a wonderful metaphor for the isolation and loneliness that one fighting the demons of addiction must feel. The final prong of connective success that The Outrun enjoys is the authenticity and respect with which it treats the disease of alcoholism. This is not a tired Hollywood portrayal of addiction with the inevitable starshine of being “cured”. Instead, Rona’s addiction and her approach to it is layered, reluctant, wavering and unsure. Rather than presenting alcoholism as a dragon to be slayed, it is presented as a passenger with which the brave character must travel through life. While The Outrun may not be presented in a fashion that meets the needs of a broad audience, it certainly feels comfortable connecting with the people who need it most.
Target score 7/10: The Outrun is a delicate trap in which some may fall prey to the waiting anticipation of the moment in which the divine Saoirse Ronan overcomes her addiction and heroically crosses the finish line of her battle with alcohol. Wisely, Nora Fingsheidt’s beautifully cinematic film avoids cliché tropes in favor of painting the picture of addiction as an unending journey in pursuit of a better life.
The Outrun opens nationwide on October 4. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.