Review: ‘The Outrun’ is a stark representation of sobriety

A scene from ‘The Outrun’ courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

‘The Outrun’ follows a young woman’s difficult path to healing as she battles her alcohol addiction and memories of her bad behaviour.

Life is full of struggles, but some people experience more than their fair share, whether it’s self-inflicted or imposed on them by powers beyond their control. Some are easier to overcome, while others compound to become one seemingly insurmountable problem, resulting in even more negative feelings, such as despair, helplessness and depression. Escapes, however brief, come in many forms, but the most popular tend to be drugs and alcohol, which in turn can become their own issue. In The Outrun, a young woman suffering from alcoholism returns home and reconnects with nature on her journey to sobriety.

Rona (Saoirse Ronan) was a messy drunk that alienated everyone close to her. After a particularly bad night, she’d offer loved ones empty promises to never drink again, only to immediately repeat her mistakes at the first opportunity. It takes more than one attempt for her to control her addiction, but this time she seems determined to make it work. After a 10-year absence, Rona moves back to her small Scottish town. Deciding to make some use of her master’s in biology, she takes up environmental causes, protecting a small, endangered migrant bird. She then moves to one of the country’s small, isolated islands, where she reconnects with herself and the wider world she’s pushed away for so long.

Co-writer and director Nora Fingscheidt opts for a non-linear narrative, jumping back and forth between the present and Rona’s hazy memories of her drunken past. Besides the occasional screen calligraphy indicating how many days Rona has been sober, most of the timeline cues come from her hair colour, how healthy she looks and where she is at the moment. The flashbacks are raw and sad with quick cuts that reflect her spotty recollections as her friends and boyfriend try to help her or strangers take advantage of her inebriation. At an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, she laments that she misses how good drinking made her feel, even though all visual evidence seems to be to the contrary.

It’s as if Ronan is portraying two different personalities, which she does with deft sincerity. People don’t really want to be around drunk Rona, who falls over and passes out in public places, vomits all the time, says embarrassing or mean things, and is an all-around buzzkill. Conversely, sober Rona is intelligent, compassionate to those around her, curious about the world and very self-aware. Voiceovers express her reflections on life, at one point describing the geography of her body and the long-term effects of alcoholism, while also sharing stories about herself and her surroundings.

Rona’s sobriety is often represented by tedious scenes of her conducting solo field research or staring contemplatively into nature’s vastness — a shot that loses its impact after repeated use, particularly when it’s spliced between party scenes to create a stark contrast between her past and present. Recovery allows her to reclaim her unexciting yet fulfilling life, but it’s not a fast and easy road to success and forgiveness. In this way, the picture’s lack of bells and whistles makes it feel honest, even when it’s being somewhat manic.

Director: Nora Fingscheidt
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu and Stephen Dillane