Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Saskia Reeves, Stephen Dillane
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 118 mins

The Outrun is a drama directed by Nora Fingscheidt, an adaptation of a 2016 memoir by Amy Liptrot who co-writes the screenplay with Fingscheidt. Fingscheidt previously made Systemcrasher and most recently The Unforgivable, which I admired for its harsh setting but it had some tonal issues. 

 Saoirse Ronan stars as Rona, a young woman at the tail-end of her twenties who moves back to her childhood home in the Orkney Islands. She previously lived in London, where she earned a biology degree and had a serious boyfriend. Unfortunately, her life spiralled out of control when she succumbed to alcoholism. Her parents are separated, her religious mother living in the family home and her bipolar father (Stephen Dillane) living nearby in a static caravan. As such, Rona splits her time between them as she continues her rehabiliation. 

Although conventional in its structure, The Outrun is a solid depiction of addiction. The film mainly works because of a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan. It’s impressively lacking in melodrama, with Finscheidt doing well to focus on the grim realities of alcohol abuse, as well as a stirring depiction of loneliness. Fingscheidt also deftly captures the wind and isolation of Scotland, and the contrast and physical displacement the Orkney’s have in relation to London.  

The decision for the film to be told in a non-linear fashion doesn’t really achieve much though – it’s often obvious why Rona might feeling a certain way. It’s also rather conventional in places and I have to admit I felt the film’s two hour length. 

Still, a fundamental part of the film’s overall success is Ronan’s performance. Ronan is utterly convincing as the young lady who knows she’s made some wrong decisions and is at peace with the consequences while trying to move on. It’s her best performance since Lady Bird and she deserves awards recognition. 

Ultimately, although The Outrun succumbs to convention in its structure, there’s enough to make it worthwhile with an excellent Saoirse Ronan performance and a mostly delicate way of approaching its heavy themes.