The Outrun
October 1st, 2024
MOVIE: THE OUTRUN
STARRING: SAOIRSE RONAN, STEPHEN DILLANE, SASKIA REEVES, PAAPA ESSIEDU
DIRECTED BY: NORA FINGSCHEIDT
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 4 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 118 MINUTES
It took me some time to write about The Outrun. Personally, 2024 has been an excruciating year. The details I will spare but as many others know, life can be incredibly complex. Then I watched The Outrun, and waves of emotions hit me—not because it’s a romantic film or entirely sad, but because it captures the experience of someone suffering from addiction with remarkable authenticity. Led by Saoirse Ronan’s spectacular performance, director Nora Fingscheidt masterfully conveys a sense of isolation that permeates the film. The Outrun is a lonely film, yet it is a powerful work that shows great empathy for anyone struggling with addiction.
The main character, Rona (Saoirse Ronan), is a woman from the Isles of Scotland who attended university in England and met her husband, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu), through mutual friends. The narrative structure bounces back and forth in time, creating a vision that eerily mimics the experience of someone who has drunk too much. We see Rona collapsing at a graduation party, reacting angrily to laughter, and starting a fight with a bouncer. These are embarrassing moments for her, and then we flash forward to her current struggle to stay sober, along with the battle to resist the urge to relapse. Rona is an addict, and every day is a battle.
I use the term addiction because I believe all forms are interconnected. I am an alcoholic, but that doesn’t mean my issues ended with giving up alcohol. My alcohol addiction was replaced with something else—candy, marijuana, sex, movies, anything I could indulge in without moderation. Watching The Outrun, co-written by Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot, the author of Rona’s autobiography, it’s clear that the writers intend for us to inhabit Rona’s world truly. It’s not just about empathy; it’s about understanding that factors such as an outburst from her father Andrew (Stephen Dillane) or her overbearing mother (Saskia Reeves) pestering her about religion can dramatically alter her day.
Ronan’s lead performance makes The Outrun resonate so profoundly, which never ceases to amaze me. She isn’t just portraying a drunken state; she captures the essence of addiction through moments of solitude—sitting alone in her cottage, terrified of falling apart, or standing timidly on the beach, reluctant to engage with her rehab group. This is what alcoholism has felt like to me. A constant sense of loneliness, isolation, and discomfort that one desperately tries to escape. We may never completely succeed, but we strive for peace, knowing we are fighting to rise above our mistakes.
I’m not entirely sure if I’m writing about the character of Rona or myself anymore. Either way, The Outrun is a film I connected with deeply, serving as a reminder that I’m not alone.
4 STARS
THE OUTRUN IS NOW PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 11TH, 2024.
Written by: Leo Brady
