– Berlinale 2024: In this adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s autobiography, Nora Fingscheid sets Saoirse Ronan on a journey not only free of alcohol, but also direction.
This article is available in English.
A storm shakes the house. A soft green mist covering the rocky landscape is getting wet from the rain. Waves are crashing against the rock bastion, breaking up the sea spray scene. The Scottish Orkney Islands are something to behold – and seeing them is something that viewers get in abundance. They are, after all, Rona’s refuge (Saoirse Ronan), who has returned home after a ten-year stint in London, high on drugs and alcohol. Here, she is trying to overcome her illness.
After premiering at Sundance earlier this year, The Outrun (+Also Read:
Interview: Nora Fingscheid
Film profile), Nora FingscheidtAdaptation of Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir, has its European premiere in the Panorama section of the 74th Berlinale. Liptrot, who has been sober since 2011, spent his years in London, immersed in a life without limits but with plenty of addictive substances. After completing a 90-day program, attempted rape followed by a night of excess with a real eye-opener, he or her film alter-ego Rona, returns home to Orkney to get away from it all – the temptation, the depression that is causing the city. is She can’t be happy without drinking, Rona says at one point. Her mission, therefore, is to find a purpose, a plane of existence that will give her peace.
On Orkney, the viewer gets a first look at what might have caused Rona to go so dramatically overboard. While Fingshed avoids portraying one of the most remote points of the British Isles as lonely and boring, there is a schizophrenic and bipolar father (Stephen Dillane), which smoothly transitions between care and abuse. Then there is the evangelical mother (Saskia Reeves), who often watches passively as Rona snaps at her and has no real recourse but Jesus to help her daughter.
Fingscheidt, who co-wrote the script with Liptrott, avoids a strictly linear narrative. Rona’s story is told by stringing together ideas, memories and key events, allowing the viewer to make certain revelations at a later stage, thus constantly challenging the portrayal of this limited setting and this handful of characters.
That being said, the way the storyline jumps around, coupled with the intensity of the moment, can be overwhelming and disjointed. And while Ronan proves once again that she is one of the best actresses of her generation, the film offers very little. One learns a lot about Rona’s past, but has minimal insight into her mind. Fingscheidt’s choice to use highly dynamic camera language, simulating the blurred, flawed vision of a drunkard, is boring rather than a real gateway into his protagonist. The second half of the story, tracking Rona’s interest in the fauna of the islands, sometimes feels like a release in waiting, something to tick off as the character’s final epiphany rather than one of her simply woven interests.
Talking about drug and alcohol abuse is as relevant as ever, and few people are as fortunate to live a healthy and sober life as Amy Liptrot. But overall, the movie “She Did It!” Mentality, surrounded by unequal narratives. Fingscheidt has made a career out of portraying women caught in psychological distress and social circumstances. But when her success, System Crasher (+Also Read:
complex
Trailer
Interview: Nora Fingscheid
Film profile)has a distinct guiding thread, The Outrun More like a collection of ideas that are expected to work on their own. It’s a message that could do with some more fine-tuning.
The Outrun It was produced by UK’s Brock Media, Arcade Pictures and MBK Productions, as well as Germany’s Weidemann Brothers, and is being sold internationally by Protagonist Pictures.
