Runaway Girl - DVD

Movie: After celebrating her thirteenth birthday in a bar and ending up watching her drunk parents get into another hair fight, Luli McMullen (Chloë Grace Moretz) decides the time has come for her to leave her home in Nebraska and try her luck in Las Vegas. Carrying only a few clothes and the .45 Smith & Whose revolver she was given for her birthday, Luli sets out. Right away, she spins a wild tall tale about the reason for her trip to her first ride, cowboy Eddie (Eddie Redmayne). After the two part ways in an argument after only a few miles, the girl gets a ride from drug addict Glenda (Blake Lively), who unceremoniously involves Luli in a gas station robbery. But this is only the beginning of a dramatic odyssey, in the course of which Luli is not only repeatedly confronted with the darker sides of life. In the end, she also has to realize that you can't run away from your own past...

Runaway Girl is a great cast drama that scores with some very intense moments, an interesting story at its core and a promising beginning. Here, director Derick Martini allows an almost satirical undertone to emerge, though this gradually fades away. In the beginning, the film still offers some dialogues or whimsical moments here and there, which can make you smile or even laugh heartily, but with an attempted rape at the latest, drama and gloom take over. This creates a somewhat indecisive overall picture that cannot develop a consistently harmonizing basic tone.

The good actors, especially Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass), and also the stirring images of this adaptation of the novel Hick by Andrea Portes ensure, at least at the beginning, that the weaknesses are hardly worth mentioning. Especially in the first 50 minutes Runaway Girl is a really successful, intense coming-of-age film that reveals a lot of potential. However, this gets completely lost towards the end, when the story gets more and more convoluted. In the last 30 minutes it becomes more and more difficult for the viewer to get carried away by what is going on and to maintain interest in the fate of the characters.

So Derick Martini has succeeded in making a drama that unfortunately seems too indecisive overall, which is indeed worth watching for the good acting performances alone. But the good potential that the story reveals at the beginning and that is also recognizable in its craftsmanship gets lost in increasing confusion towards the end. Who appreciates the American independent cinema and can also get involved in somewhat bulkier arthouse dramas, but should definitely risk a look despite the weaknesses in the last third!

Picture + Sound: The very clean image of the DVD convinces with an atmospheric color scheme and good image sharpness. This can be noted, especially in the brighter sequences, even with smaller details, while there are small drops in quality in darker scenes. The audio is largely dominated by the dialogue and music, though the surround channels do make an occasional appearance. Not an audiovisual revelation, but more than okay for a small independent drama. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has only the trailer and other program tips to offer.

Conclusion: Runaway Girl is a very well cast drama that has some very intense moments to offer, but then gets a bit too confused towards the end. But the sometimes very strong actors and the engaging visual language are enough to recommend this road movie to lovers of American independent cinema. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp