This kaleidoscopic exploration of alcoholism and rehabilitation is nothing short of stunning
You might think I’m getting ahead of myself, predicting Oscar nominations in October, but the only reason you’d be thinking that is if you haven’t seen The Outrun yet. I’m cutting right to the chase here: Saoirse Ronan is undeniable in this movie. If the Oscars weren’t also partly (maybe mostly) a game of marketing and politics, I would stake my reputation on her winning the Best Actress in a Leading Role award without hesitation.
It’s not just because I’m Irish, either. While our small (and, might I say, extremely talented and totally very humble about it) island nation certainly takes immense pride in the disproportionate success of our actors working in Hollywood these days, I swear I have a level head about it. I remain totally objective despite my nationality. Look, I’ll even prove it: I’ve yet to be convinced that Barry Keoghan is as good as some people think he is.
Although, yes, I only went to see The Outrun because of Ronan. And, yes, when I realised she was playing a Scottish person, I prickled at the thought that some people might not realise she’s actually Irish. And, sure, seeing someone from Ireland achieve such dazzling creative success is inspiring. So what? I’m not biased. I swear.
Just An Orkney-ary Girl
Told out of sequence, The Outrun follows the story of Rona (Saoirse Ronan), a biologist from the Orkney Islands north of Scotland, as she struggles with alcohol addiction, a religious mother (Saskia Reeves), a bipolar father (Stephen Dillane), and a fraught romantic relationship.
The Outrun is a magical film, simply because from that description of the movie, you probably think it’s the gloomiest, most self-aggrandising and overwrought film of the year, but when you walk out of the cinema after seeing it, you’ll be smiling. The story does of course touch on some dark subject matter, but never in a way that feels cynical or exploitative.
This is a unique human story based on the real-life experiences of Amy Liptrot, which she recounted in her memoir, also called The Outrun. I know that risks sounding a little pretentious, but the directing and acting is all done with such nuance and lightness of touch that sitting through The Outrun is a joy, not a slog.
Woman Out of Time
The fractured timescape of the story works to maintain a layer of intrigue throughout the movie. Watching the disastrous fallout of a drunken night out unfold while withholding the actual events of the night creates hooks in the audience that helps with pacing. The movie makes you wonder about Rona’s life, and in that way, you’ll come to care about her deeply.
The various stages and colours of Rona’s dyed hair is also a unique way to ground scenes in a specific time. Occasionally I did struggle to place the order of an event, but it didn’t really matter. This isn’t a plot-heavy movie with ‘Aha!’ moments when things finally come together. The most substantive element of the movie is its ‘vibe’, and every scene works to foster and reveal it.
Both the setting and the story being told feel fresh. It’s honestly thrilling to just watch someone eke out a life on a remote, wind-lashed island far from civilisation. It’s not something I’d ever seen before in a film, and the isolation that Rona seeks is counterpointed nicely by the friendly faces of the small, tight-knit community that lives there.
She How She Outruns
As I mentioned though, The Outrun is a prime vehicle for Saoirse Ronan to Do Her Thing. She gets the chance to oscillate around the full spectrum of human emotion during the movie, and none of it ever feels overdone. It’s not just the big emotions that she excels at. It’s the little things, like idly chatting with her father, or speaking to local farmers while on the hunt for an elusive bird, where she makes her character feel almost unbearably real (Watch out for one scene where she asks someone for a light—it made me want to claw my eyes out in a good way).
Ronan is, I think, the reason why most people will choose to watch The Outrun and she handles the pressure by giving a grounded performance that earns your sympathy even when Rona is at her least ‘likeable’. It’s hard to watch some of these scenes where she’s drunk and embarrassing herself and her friends in public if only because so many of have been there—or close to it—before. Conversely, the sequences where she starts to get a handle on her life feel empowering because Ronan can inject so much warmth and life into a scene without it coming across as saccharine.
Look, it’s no secret that I loved The Outrun. I’m genuinely struggling to find a flaw in it. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, and I wonder how well the movie will do outside of Ireland. My screening was packed out because Irish people love Saoirse Ronan, but I worry that the movie will be unfairly judged as snobbish Oscar-bait and avoided.
That would be a real shame. The Outrun is simply one of the best films of the year. See it now so that when Ronan gets her Oscar nomination, you can nod sagely, like me, and say ‘I knew it all along.’
Thanks for reading my review. If you liked it, consider buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien or below.
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