Rating: 4/5
Verdict: A great looking film with a rock'n'roll vibe.
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Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning team up in this sexy, sultry, rock 'n' roll chick flick. Dedicated, edgy and thoughtful, their performances are fantastic, a nice reminder that the teen vampire series hasn't sucked the life out of them just yet.
And those looking for retro fashion inspiration will have plenty to admire in this mid-70s story about a group of rebellious teenage Southern Californian girls who shake up the rock 'n' roll world by, well, having the audacity to play electric guitar.
The perception people may have about The Runaways is it's a film about rock icon Joan Jett, which in part it is. She was, along with crazed Svengali-like rock producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), the driving creative force behind the band The Runaways. The film though is actually based on a book Neon Angel: Memoir of a Runaway by The Runaway's Bowie inspired, sex kitten lead singer Cherie Currie, and the story is more about her rise and fall than it is about the career of Jett.
Cherie was only 15 when chosen to be the lead singer of The Runaways. Keen to escape from her mundane life in the Valley, Cherie is encouraged by Fowley to embrace the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and she does just that by indulging in all the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll the lifestyle has to offer.
Fanning, that once sweet and talented child actress, is all grown up and well cast as the charismatic and vulnerable Currie. Drugged up, stripped down to her underwear and barely functioning, Fanning still manages to give Cherie's story more dignity than the tabloid drama of today's teen stars.
She is perfectly balanced by Stewart who is the solid backbone of this film, with a performance which is just as intense, but in a quieter, more focused manner.
The Runaways is not structurally the most adventurous rock story, and with the band members so young there are moments you can't help thinking it is limited to being just a very cool flick for 16-year-old girls. What it does do though is have its heart in the music, and with these gutsy performances it captures the raw energy and spirit of this short-lived but rockin' band.
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Running time: 109 mins
Rating: R16 (Drug Use, ex Scenes & Offensive Language)
- TimeOut
