The Outrun: A Review
By Anna-Leigh Wilson
Naturalistic and introspective – the best way I can sum up Nora Fingscheidt’s film, The Outrun (2024). This captivating drama is based on the memoir of Orkney-born, Amy Liptrot. The film follows the path of Rona (Saoirse Ronan) on her journey through both alcoholism and sobriety, as well as her experience of dealing with the trauma of sexual assault.
We follow Rona, as she revisits her childhood home in Orkney, off the coast of Scotland. We as the viewers, are granted insight into the character’s darkest memories which have been conveyed to us beautifully through alluring imagery of the natural world and scenes of extraordinary emotion. Rona is constantly attempting to “outrun” her addiction to alcohol. However, she can never run far enough before the craving for alcohol seizes her and she is again trapped in the vicious cycle.
The beginning of the film, a peaceful montage of the ocean, juxtaposes the tone of the entire film. The narration tells us that, ‘In Orkney, it’s said that people who’ve drowned are turned into seals. We call them Selkies’. This statement ultimately foreshadows the dark tone to follow, while we wonder – Will the Selkies be a metaphor for Rona’s struggle with addiction?
Saoirse Ronan plays the character of Rona spectacularly, portraying accurately the intense emotions of a struggling alcoholic. During the scenes with Rona’s love interest Daynin (Paapa Essiedu), Ronan perfectly imitates the passion and profound love that Rona feels for Essiedu’s character. This raw and candid performance evokes emotions in the viewer that forces them to empathise with her character.
As well as this, Ronan masterfully invites us to be witness to the effects that alcohol addiction, sexual assault, and mental illness have on a person. We see all the tears, heartbreak, and pain through this wonderful performance and therefore feel the depth of the character’s emotions intimately.
It would be impossible to write a review on this movie without mentioning the inspiring cinematography of Yunus Roy Imer. The various montages of the natural world that appear throughout the film do not fall short of breathtaking. The movie is centred around nature and this is displayed most beautifully through scenes of tranquil ocean and bird imagery. The role of nature in the film inevitably contributes to the representation of Rona’s story, a tale of sheer determination even through the midst of an ever-present struggle. It must be noted also that Roy Imer’s cinematography captures perfectly the essence of Rona’s emotions, especially through the weather. Rona, potentially influenced by her father, has a fascination with the weather. Rona asks,
‘Have you ever felt like you could control the weather?’. Weather is a comfort to her, something that perhaps she believes is the only thing she can control in her life. The beautifully created scenes of Rona “controlling the weather” are so invigorating and intimate that it feels both inviting and also an intrusion to watch them.
The film does not conform to the norms of a typical drama in the slightest. By combining nature and humanity, Fingscheidt has created a masterpiece. What we see in this film is not the failures of a character with an alcohol addiction, but rather the story of an inspiring young woman who even after suffering the gruelling effects of sexual violence and mental illness, remained determined to turn her life around. Truly what we see is the story of a life lived.
