The Outrun (2024) Review: A Powerful, Uncomfortable, and Beautiful Performance From Saoirse Ronan

The Outrun is a beautifully acted, emotional drama about addiction and recovery that works because it feels honest instead of easy.

A moving character study about addiction and recovery, featuring a brilliant performance from Saoirse Ronan and some breathtaking scenery.

Good Points

• Saoirse Ronan gives an incredible performance.

• A realistic portrayal of addiction and recovery.

• The Orkney Islands are beautifully captured.

• Strong emotional honesty.

• Beautiful and careful filmmaking most of the time.

Bad Points

• The non-linear structure can be a bit frustrating, but I might be too thickm too.

• Some scenes feel a little overly artistic.

• The pacing is testing at times.

• The emotional impact is sometimes held back by the style.

• The final section feels slightly less natural than what came before.

My Thoughts on The Outrun

Saoirse Ronan gives one of the best performances of her career

Saoirse Ronan completely owns this film, and then some, with never a moment while watching it where I stopped believing in Rona as a person, as she brings so much detail to the role that every scene felt like it mattered.

She also does not try to make Rona someone who is easy to understand all the time, which feels quite genuine - she is funny in some moments, frustrating in others, and sometimes you are just wanting her to make better decisions, which feels pretty human - we have all watched someone make choices that leave us shaking our heads, and sometimes it is us ourselves..

She captures the uncomfortable side of recovery really well too, featuring moments where she seems confident and determined, then moments where she looks completely lost, and the film completely understands that people do not suddenly become a different person overnight.

It actually feels like the kind of role where you forget you are watching an actor doing a job, and that’s probably the best compliment I can give her.

The orkney setting is certainly beautiful

The landscapes in The Outrun are incredible to look at - The Orkney Islands look like the kind of place where you could stand outside for five minutes, feel the wind hit you, and question every life choice you have ever made - og how I wanted to be there.

The film makes great use of the location as well, because it feels huge and empty - the sea, the fields, and the rough weather create a feeling of isolation that fits the story perfectly - it is beautiful, but there is also something that feels a bit harsh about it.

There were a few moments where I did wonder if the movie was trying a little too hard to make sure I noticed how beautiful everything looked at though, as while, Yes, the landscape is amazing, and yes, the camera knows how to find a good view, occasionally the film seemed more interested in creating a beautiful image than staying focused on Rona.

Which to be fair, isn’t really a bad thing as such, but still.

The film takes addiction seriously without turning it into a simple story

The Outrun handles addiction by avoiding the usual approach where everything builds toward one huge dramatic moment and then suddenly everything is fixed, because as we know, that is not how life works, and the film understands that.

Instead, it focuses on the uncomfortable middle ground, where someone is trying to move forward but still has a lot of things to deal with - there are good days, bad days, and plenty of moments where progress probably does not look very impressive from the outside - it does not judge Rona or turn her into a warning sign, it simply allows her to be complicated.

A lot of movies about addiction fall into the trap of feeling like they need a big emotional scene where everyone learns a lesson - The Outrun though is far more interested in the smaller moments, which again feel closer to real life.

The storytelling style can be frustrating

The one thing that will probably divide people I think is the way the story moves around in time, because the film jumps between different periods of Rona’s life, and there were a few times where I had to remind myself where we were, which can be a little frustrating because the film does not always make things obvious, at least to me it didn’t.

Some people will love that though I am sure, but to be fair, the structure does match how memory actually works - people do not remember difficult parts of their lives in a perfectly organised timeline - things come back randomly, certain moments stay with you, while others disappear.

The problem is that understanding why something was done does not automatically mean it is always enjoyable to watch, so there were still sections where I felt the film became harder to connect with because of the way the story was arranged.

Some moments feel more like art than emotion

The film also does have a few scenes where I felt the filmmaking became more important than the character, where it occasionally reaches for a big moment and almost pushes too hard, where instead of simply letting a scene happen.

I personally just wanted to stay with Rona and understand what she was feeling, not admire how carefully a scene had been put together, and there is a difference between a powerful moment and a moment that is clearly trying to be powerful, where the final section especially comes close to crossing that line - it has some beautiful ideas, but it does feel slightly less natural than the rest of the movie.

Final Verdict

A thoughtful, beautifully made film with a fantastic performance from Saoirse Ronan, that is honest about addiction, recovery, and the difficult process of trying to change, and there is certainly a lot here to appreciate overall, even with a few little issues.

Trailer

Film Credits

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt

Screenplay by Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot

Story by Amy Liptrot, Nora Fingscheidt and Daisy Lewis

Based on The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

Produced by Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden and Saoirse Ronan

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Saskia Reeves and Stephen Dillane

Cinematography by Yunus Roy Imer

Edited by Stephan Bechinger

Music by John Gürtler and Jan Miserre

Running time - 118 minutes

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