oh I LOVED this Carrie! I have not read the book, but I have plans to see the film next week. I hear all your criticisms without having read the book - I can already see them (if that makes sense). I do not love the messaging of individual conquest, does everything not exist within the context of the structure of our world? Have you seen the film - how does it differ?
Thanks Martha! Funny you should ask… I did a mini review of the film on IG:
"THE OUTRUN" The Outrun is a beautiful movie. But all the gorgeousness of the windswept Orkney Islands can’t rescue its banal story line: young woman goes to the big city, descends into addiction, returns to the great north to get sober. Sure, recovery can be lonely. But The Outrun takes the main character’s isolation too literally. We catch glimpses of fleeting friendships formed on the London dancefloor, the Black boyfriend whose only role is to highlight the tragic existence of his wild white girlfriend. The movie is mostly mono-focused on Rona and her battles with alcoholism – a struggle portrayed as epic but ultimately solitary. Critics have applauded Saoirse Ronan for her dramatic performance of Rona (reviewers love an actor who knows how to play a good drunk). But the relentless repetitions of the main character’s ups and down make it hard to empathise with her. In the end, all that’s left is the stunningly stark landscape. The irony of all the hype surrounding The Outrun is that it will help edge the Orkneys towards overtourism, destroying the very natural beauty that the film exploits. My advice: skip the movie and read the book. Amy Liptrot’s original memoir is not free from clichés, but it does have some truly haunting moments.
oh I LOVED this Carrie! I have not read the book, but I have plans to see the film next week. I hear all your criticisms without having read the book - I can already see them (if that makes sense). I do not love the messaging of individual conquest, does everything not exist within the context of the structure of our world? Have you seen the film - how does it differ?
Thanks Martha! Funny you should ask… I did a mini review of the film on IG:
"THE OUTRUN" The Outrun is a beautiful movie. But all the gorgeousness of the windswept Orkney Islands can’t rescue its banal story line: young woman goes to the big city, descends into addiction, returns to the great north to get sober. Sure, recovery can be lonely. But The Outrun takes the main character’s isolation too literally. We catch glimpses of fleeting friendships formed on the London dancefloor, the Black boyfriend whose only role is to highlight the tragic existence of his wild white girlfriend. The movie is mostly mono-focused on Rona and her battles with alcoholism – a struggle portrayed as epic but ultimately solitary. Critics have applauded Saoirse Ronan for her dramatic performance of Rona (reviewers love an actor who knows how to play a good drunk). But the relentless repetitions of the main character’s ups and down make it hard to empathise with her. In the end, all that’s left is the stunningly stark landscape. The irony of all the hype surrounding The Outrun is that it will help edge the Orkneys towards overtourism, destroying the very natural beauty that the film exploits. My advice: skip the movie and read the book. Amy Liptrot’s original memoir is not free from clichés, but it does have some truly haunting moments.