‘The Outrun’ Soars On Saoirse Ronan’s Transcendent, Vanity-Free Performance

Late in her new film The Outrun, Saoirse Ronan’s Rona tells an acquaintance, “I can’t be happy sober.”

Although it comes late in the film, that sentiment is largely at the heart of the whole film. Rona suffers from alcoholism, and The Outrun‘s narrative jumps through time in a near-impressionistic manner. At first, it’s incredibly disorienting, but with time comes clarity. As Rona eventually finds sobriety, the film becomes more clear and all the more powerful. Ronan delivers across the film, but it’s in these later sequences where she truly excels, giving one of her very best performances free of ticks, quirks, or actor-y vanity. She’s incredibly real and seems to fully understand the struggle of addiction.

If re-edited in a linear form, The Outrun essentially consists of three periods of Rona’s young life: her party days, the moment that shocks her into sobriety, and her life post-rehab. Complicating (and perhaps causing) her troubles are her parents, Annie (Saskia Reeves) and Andrew (Stephen Dillane). Andrew’s untreated bipolar disease raises Rona in an environment of painful instability. Deeply religious, Annie’s way of dealing with Andrew’s breaks down to prayer, although she eventually leaves Andrew. The pressure of growing up in a broken home likely ignited any latent addiction Rona had, and she frequently escapes into the bottle, lashing out at friends and her boyfriend (Paapa Essiedu) as they pick up her pieces.

Post rehab, Rona tries to exist in the same world, but thanks to her father’s continued instability, she finds that impossible, eventually escaping to the remote Orkney Islands where she continues her biology PhD concentration in isolation. The separation from the real world seems incredibly necessary for Rona’s growth and mental health. That’s underscored when her father, institutionalized for a bipolar outburst, berates and verbally abuses her over the phone. Were it not for the isolation and lack of easily obtained alcohol, she would have undoubtedly relapsed again.

So, the film ultimately asks, “Can Rona be happy without alcohol?” She doesn’t think so, but her resetting in isolation may prove otherwise.

The Outrun‘s scrambled narrative may challenge some viewers, but it becomes easier to take as the film progresses — the final hour providing captivating sequences that highlight the astounding performance from Saoirse Ronan. She avoids wallowing in traditional alcoholic cliches. Instead, the strength of the film and of her performance is in the search for stability. The search for peace. The search for a way out. There are scenes where Ronan has no dialogue, but she conveys volumes through looks, glances, and interactions with the natural world around her. Believe the hype, she’s tremendous in the role.

And the beauty of her journey into happiness is what ultimately makes The Outrun a worthy journey of its own.

The Outrun is now playing in theaters.