Rona returns to Orkney Islands for recovery, battling addiction and finding hope in the mystical land.
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Based on the best-selling memoir by Amy Liptrot, The Outrun is set in the otherworldly Orkney Islands of Scotland. A brutally honest drama about addiction and recovery, strength and survival, mental health and the ability of the sea, the land and of people to restore life and renew hope. After a decade away in London, 29-year-old Rona (Saoirse Ronan) returns home to the Orkney Islands. Sober but lonely, she tries to suppress her memory of the events which set her on this journey of recovery. Slowly the mystical land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
"The Outrun is a drama based on the memoir of journalist Nora Fingscheidt, about her experiences with alcoholism and rehabilitation. Starring the always excellent Saoirse Ronan, the story follows a woman who returns from London to her home in Scotland to rehab, intermittently staying with her divorced parents. Told in a non-linear order and inspired by a book that is more reflective than narrative, the film has a somewhat diffuse plot, which might make it a bit difficult to connect with. However, Ronan's committed performance brings out all the emotions and complexities of a recovering addict's experience, resulting in a deeply moving and emotional drama."