Sundance Review: "The Runaways"

The perfect Sundance film is "The Runaways", a film that is both provocative and haunting, a film that captures the mid-seventies with clarity and that beautifully explores the fascinating world of teen girl band The Runaways, fleetingly big at a time of social unrest.

The movie focuses on the often turbulent and protective relationship between guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett and lead vocalist Cherie Currie as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record-label dramas. The film beautifully chronicles the band's formation as well as their meteoric rise under the pervasive eye of an abusive manager.

"The Runaways" marks the feature directorial debut of video artist Floria Sigismondi who directs this riveting and hypnotic work from her own script, one that is both a sharply observed study of character, epoch and the purity of rock ‘n’ roil. Visually the film is strikingly gorgeous, one that cinematically explores the contrasts between the often hazy world of drug-induced fame and trailer park poverty. But far from being merely a film of visual ideas, director Sigismondi cast her film perfectly and elicited some flawless work from her lead actresses.

Breaking free from the shackles of Bella, Kristen Stewart finally breaks loose delivering a stunning performance that covers a wide range of the acting spectrum yet achieved in a way that is far from self-conscious. Her Jett is ferociously angry, anti-establishment, fragile, sexual and exquisitely vulnerable as a girl desperately running away from a life that is conservative at a time when America was undergoing such pivotal change and not necessarily for the better. Stewart is phenomenal, a powerhouse proving how incredibly talented and multi faceted she is.

Fanning is an utter revelation as this tragic character drawn into a world that ultimately consumes her. Sexy, fragile, luminous and simply magnificent, with this role, she is raw and glorious, well and truly adrift from that childlike persona of a not-so-distant past. This is one of those singular performances that will be spoken of well and truly after the film closes.

The Runaways is a provocative and powerful film about the tragedy of celebrity and fame, media manipulation and the need to regain independence. It’s the perfect film for today’s celebrity-obsessed America, and sadly shows that little has changed in three decades.

The film’s soundtrack is a reminder of what great era the seventies was, and the music superbly enhances the film’s themes. It’s a remarkable achievement for this first-time director and one has high hopes for its commercial success once it opens in late March.

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