Berlin – Hollywood Reporter

Photographed by Ryan Pflueger.

During filming OutranSaoirse Ronan delivered lambs, swam with seals and interacted with her fair share of flora and fauna.

The four-time Oscar nominee plays Rhona, a young woman who leaves London and returns to her small hometown in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, forging her path to sobriety while experiencing all the harsh realities and natural wonders of the tiny, windy island. windy island. the coast of Scotland has to offer.

Film by German helmer Nora Fingscheidt (System failure) and based on the novel of the same name by Amy Liptrot, will be shown in Berlin after its premiere at Sundance, where it received rave reviews (TPPThe magazine’s David Rooney noted that Ronan “puts himself through physical and emotional challenges”). Ahead of the film’s screening in Berlin, Ronan spoke to TPP about why she was interested in Liptrot’s book, the benefits of producing the project and how Orkney’s unique culture influenced the making of the film.

How did you hear about Amy Liptrot’s book?

It was Jack Lowden, who also produced it, who introduced it to me. He is a very proud Scot and spent some time in Orkney. Whenever he travels to a new place, he tries to read a book by a writer from that place if he can. So he’s already fallen in love with Outran, and when we were in lockdown – looking at books left, right and center because we had all the time in the world – he recommended that I read them. He said, “This is the next role you have to play.” So, as a typical actor, of course I was delighted. I think almost everyone has had their own relationship with addiction, whether you’ve been through it yourself or watched a loved one go through it. This is a disease that affects us all in one way or another, and I am no exception. It is an illness that has shaped my life quite dramatically: I have not gone through it myself, but I have faced what can come with it. I always wanted to understand it better because it caused so much pain. Finally I felt like I wanted to dive into the other side, trying to understand it better.

When it comes to on-screen stories about addiction, few follow young women. Did you think about this when developing the project?

This was one of the first things we noticed. This will not only be the story of a young woman in recovery, but also the story of a person suffering from alcoholism, where the torture, the grief, the buildup is not motivated solely by her relationship with a man or partner. You could even take the dependency element out of it and it would still be a very interesting story about a time in a woman’s life when she’s in her 30s and you have to explore your life in a way you’ve never done before. . before. This element of dependency reinforces the journey we women are already going through at this point in our lives.

Did the book, being so internal, help you create your performance?

We knew that the central part would really be the beating heart of the film because even in the book you follow this one person very closely. Nora, when she read the book, she really grabbed onto that nerdy element of Amy’s psyche. She’s really passionate about niche topics and goes into great detail about ocean currents, jellyfish DNA, or how ethanol affects the brain. Nora really wanted to incorporate this into the overall story of the film. From a producers’ point of view, we really wanted to capture the energy of Orkney. It is located outside the mainland, and it feels like it belongs to itself. If you’re Orcadian, you say you’re Orcadian, but don’t say you’re Scottish. We really fell in love with the mindset of the people who live there, their energetic and collaborative attitude that is truly a joy to be around. But combining that mentality with mental illness and the emotional turmoil that someone can go through, Jack and I always felt like that would be really interesting.

You shot on location on the islands, right?

We started in London, which was so intense because it was the highest highs and the lowest lows that the character goes through. We then went to mainland Orkney where we needed to focus on our relationships with our parents and reintegrate back into society. We ended up on Papa Westray, the island she ended up on. We gradually isolated ourselves more and more. That was the benefit of being a producer: I thought, “Look, this is how I want to shoot this.” I have been working with myself for over 20 years. It’s a tool: you know what you need to do when it comes to your work.

How do you think being in Orkney influenced the film?

By the time we reached Papa Westray we felt truly satisfied. This was at the tail end of the COVID pandemic – we were all coming out of multiple quarantines – so we were grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with a smaller community, to be around friendly faces. All this very organically inspired the performance. We filmed at (Amy’s) house and on her farm. We met her father, who still lives on the farm. When Stephen (Dillane) and I were filming the scenes between Amy and her father, her father was there, so it was quite a surreal experience. I think it was really helpful for the actors to be reminded that this is a real story and that it belongs to real people.

I did two more films (during the pandemic). One was in Australia and when we were there we were still in lockdown. It was a movie that Paul Mescal and I made (a 2023 Garth Davis sci-fi drama). enemy), and in fact we both got COVID, one after the other. We were in a very barren and dry desert and there were essentially just the two of us. The most interesting thing about doing enemy first and then I do it Outran is that enemy this is 100 years, 150 years in the future, when all living things, all organic material, will become extinct. So I went from being in this environment to this movie where I was knocking sheep to the ground. In a couple of months it went from no life to very much life.

Was there a developed infrastructure on the island?

We were the first film to be shot in Orkney. Basically, it’s just not a place that people even know about, so all this infrastructure was moved to the island. In a small community, it takes a lot of effort to keep everyone busy and busy. So there were a lot of amateur actors, especially a lot of young people who were really into drama. I’ve shot in small towns before where there’s always that one person who’s going to be a little tricky or really make your day of shooting difficult. We haven’t experienced an ounce of this. I hope it inspires them to keep doing more because there’s just romance in this place. This is a true fusion of Celtic and Nordic cultures. Essentially, this is the country of the Vikings.