| ‘THE RUNAWAYS’ - review |
| Written by Sian Rafferty |
| Sunday, 18 July 2010 13:43 |
 It’s been a good decade or so since our generation saw any real form of social anarchy. Not since the grungy and goth-y days of the nineties have we been able to truly flabbergast our parents, concern our headmasters, and shame our grandparents. Even then, let’s face it: the closest most of us got to a rebellious youth was black nail polish, or having to witness Miley Cyrus running around in leather chaps. Maybe I am being too hard on kids these days, we still have graffiti and expulsions and binge drinking, yet something about retro rebellion – especially head-banging, the hard and fast, devil may-care days of the seventies and eighties just seem to have a bit more sparkle and swagger than our meagre attempts. This dirty teen spirit is portrayed epically in ‘THE RUNAWAYS', a biopic which documents the meteoric rise of the girl band which dragged themselves biting and spitting into the spotlight. It all starts off when Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart), with a point blank determination in her dull eyes, manages to convince producer Kim Fowley (in an excellent turn by Michael Shannon) that she can pull together the next big thing in rock. This was a time when rock 'n roll was definitely a boys club, where the only role available to women - especially young wide eyed girls - was worshipping the swearing and sweating men onstage. Stewart, I hate to say, was born to play this legendary role... and creates a character which was always in control, and always in it for the high she got from playing.  Jett definitely provided the insolence and grunt in ‘The Runaways’. Yet to really pull in the crowds they needed something more, in this case lead-singer strawberry scented, baby sweet Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning). Currie was always going to be a tough role, this Californian fifteen-year-old became the poster child for jail bait, and her instant stardom lead to a fall from grace so hard I am surprised she made it to twenty. In this case, Fanning pulls of this role with a maturity greater than many five to ten years older than her - Lohan, I am looking at you - once again showing off her infamous precociousness. It takes a good actress to properly gauge the balance between head strong fighter, and little lost girl, but somehow Fanning manages to rein both in and create a credible lead. Stylistically this movie is amazing to look at. Created by Floria Sigismondi - who has directed video clips for legends such as Sigur Rós, Marilyn Manson, and David Bowie - it goes from delicate and serene, with dreamy dusty colours, to high paced, neon and stark. Never have high-waisted flairs and sequin halter necks looked so deliciously edgy. The music, of course, brings out goose bumps, and is full of brazen suggestiveness, which is so uncomfortably unladylike. Today we live in a world of ‘been there, done that', and I think that is perhaps our greatest loss. Standing up on that stage and seeing the collective jaw drop of the whole world must have been one hell of an empowering feeling.  THINGS YOU MOST NEED TO KNOW: Eyeliner, booze, enviable platform shoes, Farrah Fawcett hair, and yes... Kristen Stewart alternating between mumbling and blurting out her lines. Yet for once, it works. HEARTOMETER: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [ out of 10 ] YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE... David Bowie and movies like ‘Thirteen’ and ‘Control’. GET IN EARLY: Read Cherie Currie’s biography which inspired the movie ‘Neon Angel’.  |
