The Outrun

According to Scottish myth, those who drown in the sea transform into seals. "We call them Selkies", protagonist Rona explains at the start of The Outrun. "At the highest tides, they slip off their seal skins in the night and come ashore as beautiful people." Yet the sea continues to call them. Rona is like one of these selkies - a castaway on dry land, struggling to find her way back to the water, but trapped between the tides. In Rona’s case, those tides are her battle with alcohol addiction. Fresh out of rehab, she flees the intoxicating chaos of London city life, hoping to reconcile with herself, her family, and her past. The young Scot returns to her home in the Orkney Islands, where the myth of these shape-shifting creatures is most deeply rooted. There, she is greeted by the wild, untamed sea.

After exploring the turbulent yet determined characters of System Crasher (2019) and The Unforgivable (2021), German filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt turns her restless lens on Rona in The Outrun. Based on the memoir of the same name by Amy Liptrot, who also co-wrote the screenplay, the film’s fragmented narrative powerfully captures Rona's experiences and memories. Just as it is essential for Rona to listen - whether to the call of the corncrake, an endangered bird species - so too do sound design and music become central to the film’s atmosphere. Composers John Gürtler and Jan Miserre weave traditional Orkney instruments with sounds from nature, juxtaposed with the noise of city life, creating a sonic storm that crashes against the cliffs.

Saoirse Ronan, both actress and co-producer, embodies Rona’s inner landscape with a performance that flows as unpredictably as her hair, shifting from seafoam green to fiery orange. Her portrayal is raw and fearless, yet never aimless. Ronan’s nuanced performance, awarded a Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival, is matched by the authenticity of the world built around her. The film roots its introspection and raw power in the rugged community and mythos of the Orkneys, steeped in ancient Norse traditions. Whether professional actors or not, in The Outrun, everyone is rendered in flesh, blood - and seal skin.