Shadows on the Wall | The Outrun

The Outrun

dir Nora Fingscheidt
scr Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot
prd Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden, Saoirse Ronan
with Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Saskia Reeves, Stephen Dillane, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Danyal Ismail, Ammar Younis, Naomi Wirthner, Conrad Williamson, Posy Sterling
release UK 27.Sep.24,
US 4.Oct.24
24/UK BBC 1h58

SUNDANCE FILM FEST
BERLIN FILM FEST

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Beautifully assembled to create a kaleidoscopic internal perspective, this Scottish drama is adapted from journalist Amy Liptrot's memoir about her attempt to recover her identity after a decade of alcoholism. Gifted German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt cleverly evokes a swirl of senses while exploring momentous themes, although the film itself begins to feel a little repetitive. And while the story is familiar, the acting and storytelling are sharp and fresh.

Following a stint in rehab, marine biologist Rona (Ronan) returns to her childhood home on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, where her devoutly evangelical mother Annie (Reeves) and bipolar father Andrew (Dillane) live separately on their sheep farm. Rona finds a job with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, then after a relapse escapes to their cottage on the isolated island of Papa Westray for the winter. As she observes the churning sea and natural wildlife, she remembers her London life with boyfriend Daynin (Essiedu) as well as her tumultuous childhood.

Scenes cut into each other to build the story from the outside in, gradually circling in on the more significant events in Rona's life. Each segment is gorgeously shot and played with offhanded honesty by a terrific cast, although the structure prevents the film from generating much narrative drive. Instead, this is a cycle of happy and sad moments that are played out of sequence, as we use Rona's blue hair dye to work out where we are in the overall chronology.

As always, Ronan delivers a darkly committed performance, skilfully finding a consistency between Rona's highs and lows. As depicted, she's a very happy drunk until things turn nasty. And the biggest battle she fights is with her self-image. Both Reeves and Dillane are terrific as her parents, and Essiedu has some strongly charismatic scenes of his own. But this is Ronan's show, and her raw, naturalistic performance makes the film hugely involving.

When it comes right down to it, this is a standard story of the struggle to escape addiction, with added elements in Rona's family life and her scientific notes about the rocks, waves, birds and seals. The individual sequences have real power, peppered with lovely touches that draw out deeper themes, strong character textures and local culture. And at its core, this is a knowing depiction of a woman working out who she is in order to find the inner resolve to move forward.

themes, language, violence 17.Jul.24

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