October 1, 2024
FILM: THE OUTRUN
DIRECTED BY: NORA FINGSCHEIDT
STARRING: SAOIRSE RONAN, SASKIA REEVES, STEPHEN DILLANE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Stories about alcoholism have been the subject of films for decades. The Outrun takes the disease to the remote Orkney Islands off Scotland. It is there that Rona, played by Saoirse Ronan, seeks solace and a sense of purpose upon recovering from a particularly rough binge. The film is sobering, pun intended, as it reminds us of how ever pervasive alcoholism and other diseases create a life of rough waves for people to try to outrun.
When we first meet Rona she is in an extreme drunken state in a London bar. Director Nora Fingscheidt brings us into Rona’s perspective with a frenetic handheld camera and close-ups emphasizing the dark edges of the character’s outward behavior. Not long after, she is at her family’s home where her mother, played by Slow Horse’s Saskia Reeves, has taken comfort in the Bible. In fact, her whole family seems to have created a stable life for themselves through religion, except for Rona’s father (Stephen Dillane) who lives by himself in a trailer by the sea dealing with his own mental health struggles.
Rona is an interesting character in that her life isn’t just defined by her drinking. She has a Master’s Degree in Biology and a promising career ahead of her thanks to the enthusiasm and knowledge her father instilled in her from a young age. We learn a lot about how her mind works through the Ronan’s voice over narration. She’s a deep thinker; one that sees the metaphors in life and the planet. She often discusses the rumbling under the islands and ocean which suggest the turbulent nature of her own inner anxiety and subsequent urge to drink. She’s fortunate to have this strong passion for the environment and science. She just has to stay committed to it to weather her own demons.
The film explores the number of methods people use to deter themselves away from the darker aspects of life. There are local rituals and customs. Rona’s mom uses religion. Rona herself often has her headphones on listening to electronic dance music. The problem with this is that she is constantly reminded of her life in London where she partied into the deepest of drunken states with her friends. Yet it also gives her some escape from the solitude she now experiences.
Structurally the film moves back and forth through time. Incidents and scenes appear almost superimposed on each other, which corresponds to Rona’s own blending of both worlds in her mind – for better or for worse. This represents one of the difficulties of watching the film though. It’s often hard to determine exactly where we are in time. Rona is given different hair colors, from blue to blonde to red to provide us with some clue but I often found that, just as I was beginning to think I knew where the timeline was, something would contradict it.
Clearly these leaps in time are necessary to tell this story in a mostly emotionally satisfying manner. Still, we do spend a LOT of time in the present watching Rona as she sits alone, reflecting, and trying to find some comfort in her present situation. The cinematography is quite beautiful though and the ocean becomes its own rumbling character in a big way on screen. It’s the timeline that can get one tripped off though.
Ronan’s voice over narration gives the film an almost documentary-like feel. She sounds like she might be providing the important science text needed to understand the region, on land and in the ocean. There are even a couple of animated visual aids which serve to illustrate some of the details she provides. Many of the actors feel very much like actual residents of the islands (I believe many of them are) which only adds to the feeling of authenticity within the recreation of the script’s memoir origins.
In the end, though, this is a film about finding what we need to feel some control over the raging weather and oceans around us. Saiorse Ronan gives another stellar performance to guide us along the way.
The Outrun opens theatrically this week.
FILM: THE OUTRUN
DIRECTED BY: NORA FINGSCHEIDT
STARRING: SAOIRSE RONAN, SASKIA REEVES, STEPHEN DILLANE
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Stories about alcoholism have been the subject of films for decades. The Outrun takes the disease to the remote Orkney Islands off Scotland. It is there that Rona, played by Saoirse Ronan, seeks solace and a sense of purpose upon recovering from a particularly rough binge. The film is sobering, pun intended, as it reminds us of how ever pervasive alcoholism and other diseases create a life of rough waves for people to try to outrun.
When we first meet Rona she is in an extreme drunken state in a London bar. Director Nora Fingscheidt brings us into Rona’s perspective with a frenetic handheld camera and close-ups emphasizing the dark edges of the character’s outward behavior. Not long after, she is at her family’s home where her mother, played by Slow Horse’s Saskia Reeves, has taken comfort in the Bible. In fact, her whole family seems to have created a stable life for themselves through religion, except for Rona’s father (Stephen Dillane) who lives by himself in a trailer by the sea dealing with his own mental health struggles.
Rona is an interesting character in that her life isn’t just defined by her drinking. She has a Master’s Degree in Biology and a promising career ahead of her thanks to the enthusiasm and knowledge her father instilled in her from a young age. We learn a lot about how her mind works through the Ronan’s voice over narration. She’s a deep thinker; one that sees the metaphors in life and the planet. She often discusses the rumbling under the islands and ocean which suggest the turbulent nature of her own inner anxiety and subsequent urge to drink. She’s fortunate to have this strong passion for the environment and science. She just has to stay committed to it to weather her own demons.
The film explores the number of methods people use to deter themselves away from the darker aspects of life. There are local rituals and customs. Rona’s mom uses religion. Rona herself often has her headphones on listening to electronic dance music. The problem with this is that she is constantly reminded of her life in London where she partied into the deepest of drunken states with her friends. Yet it also gives her some escape from the solitude she now experiences.
Structurally the film moves back and forth through time. Incidents and scenes appear almost superimposed on each other, which corresponds to Rona’s own blending of both worlds in her mind – for better or for worse. This represents one of the difficulties of watching the film though. It’s often hard to determine exactly where we are in time. Rona is given different hair colors, from blue to blonde to red to provide us with some clue but I often found that, just as I was beginning to think I knew where the timeline was, something would contradict it.
Clearly these leaps in time are necessary to tell this story in a mostly emotionally satisfying manner. Still, we do spend a LOT of time in the present watching Rona as she sits alone, reflecting, and trying to find some comfort in her present situation. The cinematography is quite beautiful though and the ocean becomes its own rumbling character in a big way on screen. It’s the timeline that can get one tripped off though.
Ronan’s voice over narration gives the film an almost documentary-like feel. She sounds like she might be providing the important science text needed to understand the region, on land and in the ocean. There are even a couple of animated visual aids which serve to illustrate some of the details she provides. Many of the actors feel very much like actual residents of the islands (I believe many of them are) which only adds to the feeling of authenticity within the recreation of the script’s memoir origins.
In the end, though, this is a film about finding what we need to feel some control over the raging weather and oceans around us. Saiorse Ronan gives another stellar performance to guide us along the way.
The Outrun opens theatrically this week.