SUNDANCE 2024: ‘The Outrun’ Showcases The Complexities of Recovery

Recovery isn’t a linear path. Relapses happen, and when they do, it’s gutting. It feels like the world crashes down and grinds you into a paste. But then, you try again. The Outrun captures the cyclical nature of getting better and how recovering from addiction is rebuilding who you are. You have to understand who you hurt, how you hurt them, and where it all came from. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot, the film is directed by f and written by Fingscheidt and Daisy Lewis.

The Outrun follows Rona (Saoirse Ronan) in a nonlinear story of addiction, recovery, place, and body. Living in London, Rona was an accomplished biologist pursuing her PhD. Then, she began partying. Rona experiences London, makes friends, falls in love, but also unlocks her alcoholism. The spiral of self-destruction is long, with repeated mistakes, making it hard to watch. Rona runs from her choices and seeks healing in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, her home.

Sweeping landscapes highlight the islands’ beauty and show how small Rona is in the world. At the same time, animated folktales capture the wonder of the island. They highlight how Rona still sees the world. She grasps for something larger in the terrifying space in her life. Her pain forges her, and Fingscheidt captures that in a visceral way. Rona’s alcoholism affects her relationships, her mind, and her body.

The way that Nora Fingscheidt captures the physical reaction your body has during the trauma of alcoholism is gutting. We see how it breaks Rona from the inside and out. Every drink on screen has a repercussion. Each one violently layers on top of the other until they all cascade and break the foundations of her life. She destroys her relationship, she berates her mother, and it all compounds. She is only at peace when alone.

As Rona, Saoirse Ronan is inspired. Messy. Complex. Vulnerable. Fragile. Resilient. Childlike. Traumatized. Intelligent. Ronan’s performance is fantastic and, at points, leaves the audience hollow. The Outrun uses a non-linear structure to follow Rona’s false starts and setbacks through recovery, counting her days of sobriety on the screen. The flashbacks are painful, but every step of it shows just how difficult living with a disease that consumes you is.

Rona’s journey is harrowing and beautiful, with hard moments spread throughout. There is no judgment against Rona, even at her worst times. At the same time, it shows the audience her sometimes violent choices. It’s clear that her demons have hold of her. It is her fault, but not in the ways that you expect. You are always pulled to empathy. This is especially true as we see her home life unfold as Fingscheidt skillfully connects the strands of the past to an uncertain future. Even in its ending, Rona’s conclusion isn’t finite, and it shouldn’t be.

Recovery is day by day. You’re never cured. It never leaves you. And like Rona’s sponsor says in the film, it doesn’t get easy. It just gets less hard. The weight of addiction is clear throughout the film, but so is the understanding that you can actually make it through the pain.

The Outrun was screened as a part of Sundance 2024.