Friday, April 9, 2010
By Rose Graner
Entertainment Editor
“The Runaways” is the latest to follow in a fine, upstanding cinematic tradition; specifically, the tradition of being a terribly well-done film that almost no one goes to see.
Despite this lack of mainstream appeal, “The Runaways” is a truly excellent film that anyone with an open mind and an understanding of cinematic merit will be able to enjoy completely.
“The Runaways” is part “rockumentary” and part “docudrama,” a combination that’s a lot less complicated than it sounds. It chronicles the rise and fall of the Runaways, rock icon Joan Jett’s first band and one of the first girl bands to make it onto the 1970s rock scene.
No actual footage from the time period in which “The Runaways” was set (1975-1979) is used. Kristen Stewart (yes, the girl from “Twilight”) plays Jett, and Dakota Fanning plays the band’s lead singer, Cherie Currie (whose memoir, “Neon Angel,” was the basis for the film).
“The Runaways” focuses on the lives of Jett and Currie as individuals and on the relationship between the two. Jett is introduced to viewers as a street kid hungry to make it in the male-dominated rock music scene, while Currie is a white girl from the suburbs trying to break out of the mundane path set before her.
After bringing Jett and drummer Sandy West together in 1975 and hearing them play, notorious producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) agrees to work with the fledgling band. He helps acquire the other band members, including Currie.
After getting signed to Mercury Records and releasing a self-titled debut in 1976, the band experiences a swift rise to fame and all that comes with it: promiscuity, drug use and alienation from family. The remainder of the film focuses on the Runaways’ fame and draws to a close soon after Currie leaves the band in 1977.
Despite the less-than-impressive records of its stars, “The Runaways” is extremely well-acted. Stewart melts into the role of Jett, adopting her mannerisms perfectly and managing to forgo her usual fallbacks of lip-biting and sideways glances. (Jett reportedly was unable to distinguish Stewart’s voice from her own when listening to Runaways tracks recorded by Stewart for the film.)
Fanning held her own as Currie, bringing depth to the role without making the character seem overdramatized or unreal.
The film’s stars do create a marketing proble for advertisers —Stewart and Fanning (who are known for more juvenile fare) only draw in fans too young for the film’s raunchiness—but older viewers should reconsider these young ladies as rising stars in dramatic cinema.
Viewers shouldn’t be scared away from “The Runaways” by the whiny vibe of the trailers. The film itself, while definitely not a chick flick, is entirely dignified and avoids creating an awkwardly sensationalist or overly sexualized portrayal of the band itself.
It’s possible that viewers looking for a dramatic reenactment of the documentary “Edgeplay: A film about the Runaways” will be disappointed by “The Runaways.” The film isn’t extremely in-depth—for example, it glosses over the mistreatment the band suffered at Fowley’s hands and avoids explaining the issue of The Runaways’ inability to keep a bassist (the band went through five in total, not including a short time period during which Jett stepped in).
Beyond this, the film is extremely accurate and avoids dramatization of any kind. Most inaccuracies are entirely deliberate and simply there for simplicity’s sake.
“The Runaways” may not immediately seem to appeal to everyone, but in reality any viewer tired of overdone, mainstream cinema and interested in quality directing, intelligent writing, and excellent acting should be sure to look into seeing “The Runaways” as soon as possible.
“The Runaways” is rated R and playing nationwide.
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