‘The Outrun’ review: Saoirse Ronan’s stellar performance elevates Nora Fingscheidt’s addiction drama

Saoirse Ronan plays a recovering alcoholic named Rona in the beautiful film set in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Based on the memoir of Amy Liprot, who co-wrote the story with director Nora Fingscheidt, “The Outrun” connects with the viewer on multiple levels. Anyone who has dealt with addiction can relate and as a parent I thought of Rona as my daughter and how I could help her with her struggle. Unfortunately, the parents in this drama offer little support.

The theme here is finding your strength to overcome the challenges of recovery. We have flashbacks of Rona’s downward spiral. A decade earlier, the 29-year-old left her picturesque home to study biology in London. He became a fixture on Hackney’s party scene, full of booze, drugs and sex. Their crash and burn lifestyle is captured by the director’s roving camera as we witness the debauchery first hand along with a healthy dose of EDM music.

Fingscheidt does a fantastic job of putting the audience in Rona’s headspace. Flashbacks fueled by the club, offset by her relationship with Daynin, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu), culminate in a wake-up call involving a stranger, an assault and a trip to the ER. Although not complete, the backstory helps us relate to Rona, who loses everything.

Now sober and living with her religious mother (Saskia Reeves), whose only response to her daughter’s difficult transition from rehab to home is prayer, Rona becomes depressed and lonely. Her awkward attempts to reconnect with society are felt deeply as she finds solace in a summer job examining the elusive cornfowl while surrounded by the beauty of the Orkney Islands. However, the scenic scenery is no match for the solitude heightened by the isolated location.

Stephen Dillane plays Rona’s father, a sheep farmer who lives in a caravan. She is closer to him than to his mother, in part because she can relate to his alcoholism and volatile temper. Rona becomes his caretaker as she tries to keep her inner demons at bay.

“The Outrun” is a brutally honest look at recovery and addiction. Because it is based on the life of Amy Liprot, the narrative is not plot-driven, but the film keeps you engaged as we, the audience, become Rona’s support team. Yunus Roy Imer’s vibrant cinematography provides a nice balance to the story’s alienated theme, and the constant EDM needle drops (courtesy of Rona’s headphones) inject little bursts of energy.

Saoirse Ronan gives us one of the best performances of 2024. She’s fantastic and her performance is full of authenticity, which is exhausting to watch at times. The only perceived flaw is Rona’s relationship with Daynin, which needs some strengthening to get the audience invested in her character and the seriousness of the couple’s relationship. ‘The Outrun’ is a must watch movie.

(4 stars)

It’s showing in theaters now

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