First things first, did people watch The Outrun? Did the movie simply fall into some weird radar where critics and voters didn’t know of its existence? Because if that’s not the case, how on earth did people watch this film and not nominate Saoirse Ronan for every single Leading Actress award? How are the BAFTAs the only ones to do so thus far?
Ronan is one of the greatest actresses of our time, and she proved herself to be an unmistakable star during Atonement. Yes, Atonement. Year after year, she brings to life some of the most memorable characters onto our screens, each different than the one before, and yet somehow, its crickets come award season. What she does as Jo March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is legendary. She’s the best part of Foe. She’s utterly fantastic in Lady Bird. She’s an absolute joy in See How They Run. She’s indescribable in Blitz. And every moment she’s on-screen during The Outrun left me floored.
The shocking part of all this is The Outrun is precisely the type of film that should be getting more buzz around award season. While Saoirse Ronan doesn’t deliver a career-defining performance, every bit of her work is still worthy of recognition. What she emotes in the first ten minutes of the film alone is far more than some of the actresses who are nominated have done, and not to yuck anyone’s yum, but it’s profoundly confusing what we’re choosing to recognize as worthy this year and what we’re pushing aside.
Sometimes, it feels like one person deems a performance award-worthy, and every other person goes along with it without questioning or considering that there is far more out there. And I didn’t intend to make this an entire critique of the system, but it’s unfathomable to think that people watched Saoirse Ronan bring to life various chapters of Rona’s life and the grueling battle with alcoholism and didn’t think it was a brilliant performance. Did we watch the same movie?
My heart was in my throat the entire time she was on screen. The incredible range she brings to life is truly no small feat and so much of this performance could’ve been overdone in the hands of a lesser skilled actress. Yet, Ronan is tremendously gifted when it comes to embodying characters with raw nuances that always deserve pages and pages of analysis. One small look tells us so much that few in her generation understand the enormity of emoting like this. A single scream writes an entire novel. There are countless layers to the characters and Ronan brings each of them to life with a grace and compassion that’s indescribable to witness. You know countless research went into this role. You know she understood the book which The Outrun is based on inside out. You know she thought about every single move she made and why it mattered for the character.
The film works because of who Saoirse Ronan is an actress. Whatever role she takes on, she ensures that we never once see another character she’s portrayed in the past because she’s so meticulously in-tuned with the present that it stands out. It’s painfully obvious and even more heartbreaking that more people aren’t screaming about how tremendously gifted she is.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Anne Binckebnack Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics