Saoirse Ronan shines in “The Outrun,” a powerful story of recovery

Rona – a bright biology major in her late 20s – was completely drunk by closing time and pushed her luck again, literally kicking and screaming, provoking the bartender to throw her out of a London pub and onto the pavement. The contents of her purse scatter and roll. She’s been here before, or thereabouts.

“The Outrun” tells her story of addiction and recovery with clear eyes and pleasantly unpredictable twists. Saoirse Ronan does subtly spectacular work at every stage of this character’s odyssey. Rona is based on Amy Liptrot, whose memoirs were slightly fictionalized but not distorted in the screenplay co-written by Liptrot and director Nora Fingscheidt. It’s a thoroughly engrossing film, its visual dynamism almost to the point of embarrassment. The blues and greens and hot neon dance party memories collide and merge throughout.

The narrative connects Rona’s heady London years with later parts of her life on the beautiful Orkney Islands, off the north-east coast of Scotland. As I watched The Outrun, whose title refers to remote farmland, I asked myself the Saoirse Ronan question, one that has been asked many times and in many films. What is the secret of her light gravity, the calm and the storm and back again, that she manages so effortlessly? That precise emotional silence that suddenly gives way to pure, kinetic expressiveness?

Maybe there Is no secret. Maybe, aside from his piercing blue eyes, Ronan is just one of those actors who learned a lot in front of the camera as a youngster and then, as an adult, became a famously reliable and convincing performer to boot. British roles, American roles, comedies, dramas, contemporary works, historical films, everything. Ronan’s camera presence seems a bit busy at times. At best, however, it is attentive listening and observation. In The Outrun she delivers one of her truest and cleanest performances, which presents an interesting paradox as Rona is both a mess and later a conduit for reflection, both for herself and the audience.

After a violent, half-forgotten attack following the film’s opening pub sequence, Rona returns to the Orkney Islands, where she grew up. Recovery won’t be easy, she knows. Her alcoholism left an indelible mark on her early adult years. At some point, later than we want to hear it, she says with curt clarity, like a death sentence: “I can’t be happy sober.” The film doesn’t end there, but “The Outrun” doesn’t make anything easier, or rather.

Rona’s sheep farmer father (Stephen Dillane, excellent) lives in a mobile home on the edge of a cliff; His mental health problems caused him to reluctantly go in and out of institutions. After their breakup, Rona’s mother (Saskia Reeves, exceptional at dropping subtle hints about how the past feeds the present) has turned to God for comfort and meaning. Rona comes into conflict with both parents. She’s itching to get back to London and is clearly itching to drink again.

Counting her days of sobriety, she finds a makeshift Orkney community in the non-profit Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, also known as the RSPB. She is tasked with investigating the prospects and conditions for a locally rare species, the corncrake, and is asking local residents for support. Fortunately, “The Outrun” treats the animal welfare activities the way director Fingscheidt treats everything else in Rona’s uncertain life: vividly but matter-of-factly, without fuss. Rona gradually rediscovers the things she loved about the islands as a girl, while also discovering new things. Part of the film takes her to another, smaller Orkney island, Papa Westray, where she enjoys the isolation, the wild storms and the joys of a swim in incredibly cold water.

The flashbacks in “The Outrun” are reminiscent of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir “Wild,” the film adaptation of which starred Reese Witherspoon. In my opinion, “The Outrun” has the edge in terms of editing acumen; In the blink of an eye, we are thrown back into Rona’s former life and self, in London, with a friend (Paapa Essiedu) who is increasingly overwhelmed by Rona’s addiction. In the rugged extremes of her character, Ronan’s portrayal proceeds fiercely and without unnecessary flourishes – in a heartbreaking leap or stumble, her Rona exchanges furious belligerence (“You’re trying to tame me! You’re trying to control me!” ” for worlds of hurt that can be found in a single line (“Whatever I did, I will never do it again, I promise”).

It is not always easy to be a witness. But recovery stories that are simpler are usually the ones that lie about what happened and how someone got there.

“The Outrun” – 3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language and brief sexuality)

Running time: 1:58

How to watch: Premieres in theaters October 3rd

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.