Review of The Runaways (2010) by Julian T — 29 Oct 2010

Built on three fine performances and a gritty style, Floria Sigismondi's film about the rise and fall of the '70s all-girl rock band The Runaways is an entertaining if predictable biopic. Sigismondi travels the well-worn path of the prototypical rock band's career course--scrappy beginnings, success, concerts and backstage antics and hookups, followed by egos, drugs, and the eventual split-up.

She sets the grungy tone right off the bat, opening with a young girl getting her first period. This is a dirtier 1970s that feels closer to reality than the romaticized version we typically get. Dakota Fanning is perfectly cast as the young Cherie Currie, the band's frontwoman and lead singer, a 15-year old justly labeled as "jailbait" (a notion Fanning fills out all-too aptly).

Kristen Stewart continues to prove her worth as an edgy and truly talented actress, outside of her banal 'Twilight' role. She proves to be the more interesting presence, which goes against the film when the focus shifts mostly to Fanning in the third act.

But the great Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon chews them up and spits them out for lunch. The usually stoic and stone-faced Shannon cuts loose and chows down on the scenery, oozing a unisex charm and delivering his witty dialogue with a devilish glee.

He all but (no pun intended) runs away with the film. Despite it's familiar structure, the director and actors make this coming-of-age tale a vivid portrait of an era when girls took the rock world by storm and, however brief their glory, undoubtedly left their mark.