The Outrun<\/em> bobs back and forth in time, weaving together a lifetime of the experiences of biologist Rona (Saoirse Ronan), from her childhood living with a mentally ill father (Stephen Dillane) in the Orkney Islands of Scotland to her decade spent drinking her way across London and falling for Daynin (Paapa Essiedu). After a stint in rehab, she returns to the Orkney Islands to continue her sobriety with the encouragement of her ultra-religious mother (Saskia Reeves). She begins working for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and searching for the rare corncrake species. The job structures her days and embeds her more deeply with Orkney\u2019s land and the small community that populates these islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stories of addiction aren\u2019t especially revolutionary in cinema, but director Nora Fingscheidt and her co-writer Amy Liptrot have adapted Liptrot\u2019s memoir into something new and special in the subgenre. The details of Rona\u2019s work as a biologist are fascinating in their specificity, and the remote beauty of the Orkney Islands setting is captured well by cinematographer Yunus Roy Imer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet the filmmakers go beyond a traditional adaptation as they take advantage of the medium and use a variety of styles, including animation and archival footage. The Outrun<\/em> refuses to shy away from the grim reality of Rona\u2019s experience and the effects of her alcoholism (on both herself and those around her) while she\u2019s in the depths of her addiction, but there\u2019s a fantastical quality to the film as well. From its opening scene, it delves into the mythology of Scotland and the Orkney Islands, dealing as much with the legends of the past as Rona\u2019s own painful history and her inner life. Flashbacks and memories permeate her present existence, and her life as a scientist influences how she views the world, even while she makes decisions that defy logic. Nature plays a critical role in her growth, with the roar of the wind and water in Orkney replacing the London hubbub, but she still can\u2019t drown out noise of the choices she\u2019s made. This combination doesn\u2019t always feel cohesive \u2014 and not every element works all the time \u2014 but it remains largely compelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After The Unforgivable <\/em>and System Crasher<\/em>, Fingscheidt makes another film about a broken woman struggling to put the pieces of her life back together, and she finds a fine collaborator in Ronan. The Outrun<\/em> requires the entirety of the four-time Oscar nominee\u2019s range, as she plays Rona throughout a variety of changes over a decade\u2019s time. There are the requisite partying and puking scenes that are standard in these types of narratives, but there are also moments of silence and contemplation. Her character spends plenty of time alone in the Orkney Islands, necessitating emoting without words, and Ronan \u2014 one of the best actresses working today \u2014 is up for the challenge, whether she\u2019s lying on the floor or dancing. This likely isn\u2019t a big enough film to net Ronan her fifth Academy Award nod (or a win), but it\u2019s a role deserving of attention as it further cements the certainty of her talent, particularly for playing flawed characters who earn our empathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rona\u2019s journey in The Outrun<\/em> ends exactly as viewers might expect, yet it remains far from predictable. Instead, this drama is at once inventive and affirming in its unique approach to a familiar story. Its final moments brim with optimism, even\u2014and perhaps especially\u2014in the face of daunting odds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Outrun” is in theaters this weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/outrun2-1024x768.jpg\")
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