‘The Outrun’ (2024) Review: The Lonely Battles of Recovery
Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun is a story about a young woman’s battle with alcoholism and her difficult relationship with her loved ones. Adapted from Amy Liptrot’s memoir of the same title, Saoirse Ronan takes the lead in an outstanding performance of a painful, heartbreaking addiction drama that portrays a difficult and messy journey.
Temptation is at every corner. It’s violent and abrasive. But The Outrun provides quiet moments of self-reflection and healing that shape an addict’s life for the better while showing the chaotic and destructive ways that destroy their lives.
Rona (Ronan) is a young woman who is completing her postgraduate work in London. But her life is not perfect. To escape the depressing days, she drinks alcohol excessively and parties, which upsets her best friend, Gloria (Izuka Hoyle), and boyfriend, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu). One night, after a rough night out at the bar, Rona, who is extremely intoxicated, injures herself and Daynin. Unable to deal with her reckless behaviour and alcohol abuse, Daynin leaves her. After an accident, Rona decides to move in with her mom, who lives in Orkney, until she feels better and returns to London to continue her studies.
The Outrun is written in a non-linear structure that jumps back and forth between London and Orkney. What differentiates these timelines is Rona’s hair. In London, her hair is a light blue electric tint. When she is back in Orkney, the dye is only visible on the tips of her hair and slowly fades away as the story progresses.
Her life in London is filled with joyful memories with Gloria and Daynin, partying until dawn. She is completely distracted from her studies and relies on alcohol to feel better about herself. Rona loses control of herself. But her actions, while intoxicated, take a toll on her friends and loved ones. But as the story progresses, it’s clear that she has had an extremely difficult childhood. Her parents are divorced. Her father lives alone in a caravan on a farm and deals with bipolar disorder. While her life in London is chaotic, she has tried to get help but like an invisible string, her addiction pulls her back to dangerous territories.
In contrast to that, Rona in Orkney is different. She’s calmer and sober. Her hair is blonde and the tips are blue. Long gone are the days of extreme partying and alcohol abuse. She goes to work and wears her headphones as a protective shield to distract herself from the pull.
The idyllic scenery and the angry waves crashing on Orkney’s coast are symbolic reminders of Rona’s internal battles. She worries about her father’s mental health. The stressful situation leads her to stray away from sobriety. But The Outrun’s portrayal of alcoholism is not surface level. It captures the deep layers of alcoholism and how it affects people’s loved ones. It’s chaotic and messy. Nothing about alcoholism is defined in romantic terms, meaning nothing is romanticised. It shows the difficult journey that alcohol-addicted people have a difficult time adjusting to a normal life.
While The Outrun shows the negative portrayal of alcohol abuse, it also shows Rona slowly learning to get back on her own two feet. There are challenges that she faces and obstacles that she must overcome. But the movie pieces together her past mistakes and sobriety like the natural metaphors that crash in the background. Fingscheidt portrays the lonely battles of sobriety living on an island alone observing the beautiful landscapes and chaotic waves. The non-linear structure shows Rona’s difficult journey from alcohol abuse to sobriety, completely withdrawing herself and starting anew.
Even if addiction stories are long and heartbreaking, The Outrun is a story that tells how Rona can find solitude and comfort in her life. While it does portray the horrible aspects, there is something more. It’s a story about facing tribulations and recovery, while desperately trying to find a connection within herself. It shows vulnerability in dark times. It’s about learning to control impulsive behaviours. The possibilities of peace and solitude are present, and Rona is the only person who can change it. The Outrun is a powerful drama that shows the devastating effects of alcohol abuse and learning to overcome difficult challenges provides a positive portrayal that ends with a liberating message.
Here are some reading materials to learn about the genocide, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation in Palestine:
Operation Olive Branch is another useful resource to help families evacuate from Gaza and buy medicine and food by donating directly to their GoFundMe links.
Donate to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Thread of Sudanese initiatives to donate.
You can also join the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement, a Palestinian-led movement as a form of resistance to Israeli occupation.
Books about Palestine on Verso Books