The Outrun

I liked but didn't love The Outrun when I saw it at Sundance so I was eager to see where I would land after a second viewing at the Broadway last night.  Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is a graduate student in biology living in London when her drinking becomes problematic.  She hits rock bottom when her boyfriend Daynin (Paapa Essiedu) leaves her and she is physically assaulted while on a bender.  After a 90-day stint in rehab she returns home to the Orkney Islands in Scotland but her relationships with her father Andrew (Stephen Dillane), who is struggling himself with bipolar disorder, and mother Annie (Saskia Reeves), who believes that prayer is the answer, are complicated and she relapses.  She eventually retreats to a remote island north of Orkney where she takes inspiration from nature to become sober.  The first time I saw this I really struggled with the nonlinear timeline (it was a late screening and I was tired) but this time around I thought it was an effective way to portray Rona's disorientation and it made a lot more sense to me.  It is definitely a slow burn as Rona makes connections between herself and the landscape but the sequences on the island are beautiful and I was riveted by them.  I especially loved the use of the corn crake (the endangered bird she searches for while working for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) as a symbol for her journey to sobriety, especially in the final shot.  Ronan is absolutely brilliant (it is one of my favorite performances from one of my favorite actresses) because she very credibly depicts so many different aspects of her character: wild and exuberant as a party girl in London, mean and combative when confronted by her behavior, tearful and apologetic when begging her lover not to leave her, and brooding and contemplative as she reconciles everything that has happened to her.  I loved the scene where she interacts with the waves crashing on the beach because it is surprisingly powerful and emotional.  I definitely appreciated this more than I did at Sundance and I highly recommend it for Ronan's stellar performance.