After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. Hoping to heal, she returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands, where she grew up.
Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is a recovering alcoholic. She has lived in London for the past ten years and was in a committed relationship with Daynin (Paapa Essiedu) but moved back home to the Orkney Islands when that fell apart.
Rona studied biology in school and seems very connected to nature. The Orkney Islands are a pretty beautiful backdrop for this picture. The crashing of waves symbolizes the turmoil Rona faces without her crutch, alcohol.
This film is an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir of the same name. And while I have not read it, the film seems to have a similar structure to the book. Voiceovers about scientific facts will cut through at certain moments, mainly when Rona interacts with or reflects on nature. The film will also flashback nonlinearly to Rona’s drunken days, but it can be hard to tell where in time you are with Rona. The only indicator is the shade of her often colorfully dyed hair.
Ronan has been on the backburner since 2019’s “Little Women,” with only small, forgettable films featuring her in the years since. This and Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” later this year marks her comeback. I am a big fan of hers and can say that her performance carries this film. This should be no surprise; there is a reason why she had four Oscar nominations under her belt by the time she was 25 years old. Her mannerisms and actions are over the top when playing drunk. She realistically portrays how out of control one can get once addicted, the euphoric highs and crushing lows, mainly conveyed through her relationship with Daynin via flashback.
In modern times, Rona is living a quiet and discontented life back home. She has a complicated relationship with both her parents. Her mother, Annie (Saskia Reeves), is deeply Christian, and her father, Andrew (Stephen Dillane), is bipolar. She is pretty isolated back home. She misses her friends and the city, but you cannot deny how soothing the nature surrounding her is.
She seems to have finally found some peace when she gets a job looking for and advocating for corncrake birds. These endangered species are quite elusive but memorable once you come across one.
Unfortunately, there’s not much more to this story than its focus on recovery from addiction. The film can be slow and meandering but is firmly anchored by Ronan’s performance.
In Theaters Friday, October 4th