A soft voice (actress Saoirse Ronan) with a Scottish accent tells the poetic myth of seals who come on land to become beautiful humans, but if not returned to the sea by onset of sunlight must remain in human form on land, thus trapped in an existence that keeps them from being whole and free. The faces of these sea creatures lure us into the film, and the stunning landscape, as well.
As we meet Saoirse Ronan’s character Rona she, too, seems to be unhappy, roaming and searching for a purpose in life, vacillating between the rugged landscape and its plant and wildlife of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, and when here where her roots are, also missing her life in London, compelling with its fun-loving group of friends and strangers in pubs and bars. But her nightlife-sojourns turn into nightmares as she seeks to forget her troubles, drowning her sorrows in alcohol, and making a mess.
Beautifully directed, Nora Fingscheidt (her screenplay co-written with Amy Liptrot, based upon Liptrot’s memoir “The Outrun: A Different Kind of Addiction Memoir”, the film a coproduction between the United Kingdom and Germany), weaves scenes of the protagonist as a little girl who loves nature, growing up between parents who cannot offer her stability: A mother who tries to care and a father filled with manic-depressive episodes, she politely calls his state of being “unwell.” And as her mother seeks solace and strength in deep faith, Rona escapes in binge-drinking episodes she hopes will allow her to forget, yet, instead, pushes her deeper into desperation.
Rona, a brilliant scholar with a Master’s in Biology, falls in love and loses all again when the family history and dependency catch up with her over and over again. She tries to regain her life but as we see in flashbacks, we and she are pulled back, forced to repeat the past!
Saoirse’s strong performance as Rona makes the film a testament to strength in light of struggle that perhaps those who see themselves in the experience can best understand. A film of hope nonetheless, poetic and beautiful and with a lovely surprise at the very end.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Stephen Dillane, Saskia Reeves
Directed and co-written by: Nora Fingscheidt
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R for language and brief sexuality
Running Time: 1 hr. 58 min.
Opening Date: October 4, 2024
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Released in: Theaters