‘The Outrun’ review: a thought provoking and sobering watch

If you’re a film fan, you probably already know that Saoirse Ronan is one of the best actors of her generation – this intimate drama is another great showcase of her talents. It’s based on Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir, detailing her life as a recovering alcoholic in her childhood home of Orkney, flashing back to her life in London.

Director Nora Fingscheidt keeps the pace leisurely enough to dig deep into characters, while adding tension through mystery. We are slowly drip fed details about the past of Ronan’s character Rona – we see glimpses into her initially happy relationship with her boyfriend (Paapa Essiedu), their party loving lifestyle and Rona’s descent into alcoholism.

Meanwhile on Orkney, she has a fractious relationship with her religious mother (Saskia Reeves) and tries to keep herself busy with a job that involves spotting rare birds – hey, this is Orkney. The landscape looks brutally beautiful, and there’s a vivid sense of isolation and loneliness.

But The Outrun is most powerful, and unusual, in its depiction of addiction, using Liptrot’s words and experiences to convey the compulsion, the secrecy, the blackouts, the misery. And when there are no words, Ronan speaks volumes with a single look. A thought provoking and sobering watch.

‘The Outrun’ will open the 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) (August 15-21) and is on general release September 27.