Once again, Saoirse Ronan has debuted a film at Sundance that looks like an instant Oscar contender, just as she did with Brooklyn in 2015. But this time it’s for The Outrun, an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s award-winning memoir. This one looks like a no-brainer for Sony Pictures Classics, who have given the film an October 4th release date, just as the awards season is taking off.
The Outrun is directed by German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt and co-written by Nora Fingscheidt, known for her buzzy debut System Crasher and the Sandra Bullock drama The Unforgivable. Ronan stars as a woman fresh out of rehab who returns to her home off the Scottish coast to finally deal with her troubled past.
Liptrot co-wrote the script with Fingscheidt, which should keep the adaptation faithful to the author’s deeply personal story. The film also stars Paapa Essiedu, Saskia Reeves and Stephen Dillane.
SYNOPSIS: 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 that 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. Based on the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fingscheidt, THE OUTRUN is an acutely honest drama about addiction and recovery.
You can check out Cortland’s early review of The Outrun from Sundance now.
