“The Runaways” No Runaway Success

 From the graphic, coming-of-age cliche that opens the film to the familiar tale of rock n' roll rebellion that ensues, "The Runaways" is as derivative as any catchy three-chord tune that can make you hum along but falls short of selling the whole album.

Based on Cherie Currie's memoir, Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, "The Runaways" follows a young Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Currie (Dakota Fanning), during the founding, rise and fall of the first all-girl rock band, The Runaways. If you've seen any rock biopic, you know the clichés the film will dole out; broken families, the allure of fame at all costs, Valhalla decadence at every turn, in-fighting, egos, ODs, and eventual implosion. What writer-director Floria Sigismondi attempts to do so things stay fresh is focus on the love and friendship between the two young girls. Obviously, by saying "attempts," we mean it's not a total success.

While Stewart and Fanning give admirable performances as sexually-charged, angst-ridden, fight-for-your-right-to-rock young women, Sigismondi is lost in her own lens. Best known for directing music videos, particularly Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People," her imagery is luxuriously drawn in shags and polyesters, alluringly capturing a mid-70s time capsule. But Sigismondi trades storytelling for art, making long stretches of the film feel like unedited music video footage where aesthetic takes priority over plot.

Thankfully, even Sigismondi can't drag down Michael Shannon, whose portrayal of the band's bombastic, hilariously tyrannical, manic Svengali of a manager makes the film worth the price of admission. With beautiful visuals, an excellent cast and an outstanding soundtrack, "The Runaways," much like the band it portrays, is filled with unrealized potential and is ultimately sabotaged by the person entrusted to captain the ship.

Contact Us