The Outrun (2024)
At one point in The Outrun,
raging alcoholic Rona says to a fellow rehab member, "I can't be happy sober."
That perfectly encapsulates how hard it is for an addict to get straight.
Rona is played by ever reliable Saoirse
Ronan in yet another incredible performance. Ronan makes you care for this
character struggling with this disease, even when you get angry by her violent
drunken outbursts. This is an Oscar worthy performance.
Because of her hard partying while
living in London, Rona destroys her relationship with her boyfriend Daynin
(Paapa Essiedu). In an attempt to get her life in order, she returns to Orkney
Islands in Scotland where her separated parents both still reside. It's an
uphill battle for Rona, since her mom (Saskia Reeves) has found religion and
her dad (Stephen Dillane) suffers from a bipolar disorder.
The Outrun is directed by Nora
Fingscheidt and loosely based on a memoir by Scottish journalist and author Amy
Liptrot. Fingscheidt and Liptrot collaborated on the screenplay and concocted
the screen story with Daisy Lewis. Their film is presented in a nonlinear
style, and, occasionally, it's confusing as to where we are—the past or
present? This confusion, however, reflects the main character, as she is often
in a drunken haze. As the movie progresses, we are mostly in the present, like
it is stability setting in.
