In the ’70s, rock was a man’s world. You had Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Ramones tearing up stages across the nation, but you’d be hard pressed to find a woman willing to sling a guitar way down low with aspirations of becoming a jukebox hero. Then came The Runaways. They were young, talented and ready to blow rock’s gender barrier wide open. In “The Runaways,” writer/director Floria Sigismondi creates a flashy biopic buzzing with sex, drugs and screaming guitar riffs that captivates, but ultimately isn’t as groundbreaking or badass as the all-girl band itself.
Set in the streets of Los Angeles, Sigismondi’s coming-of-age musical drama follows the rise and fall of the group, focusing primarily on lead singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning, “New Moon”) and guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart, “New Moon”). The rebellious pair falls into the hands of notorious record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”) who turns a group of five teenage girls into a legendary rock sensation that would go on to pave the way for future female bands.
With prolific credentials that include directing music videos for the likes of Marilyn Manson, David Bowie and The White Stripes, Sigismondi undoubtedly knows music and how to visually translate it into something worth watching. However, in her big screen debut as a director, this translation doesn’t hold up for the entirety of a full-length film. There are some outstanding visual sequences — unsurprisingly, they generally occur in correlation with musically driven scenes such as the girls performing — but the cinematography doesn’t always hit the right notes in order to keep audiences tuned in throughout the film.
Yet, while Sigismondi’s inexperience as a film director can easily be overlooked, her lack of screenwriting ability is glaring. With a true story as compelling as that of The Runaways, the film should essentially write itself. This isn’t the case for Sigismondi. The storyline is as clich?d as they get, detailing the band’s career in typical film fashion — the characters and songs are new but it feels like you’ve seen the film at least a dozen times before. Sigismondi fails to truly develop what makes this story different — the girls’ dynamic personalities and life stories — creating a film that fizzles when it comes time to sparkle. The result is something that feels more like an episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music” than a $10 million feature length film.
On the surface, though, the film still has plenty of raw energy to keep things moving. Aiming to capture The Runaways’ rebel spirit and teenage angst, Sigismondi doesn’t miss a chance to amp up the band’s racy and sexually charged lifestyle. Although this works to her advantage most of the time, including scenes with Fanning leaving little to the imagination onstage, Stewart peeing on the headliner’s guitars and the pair having a risqu?, drugged-up lesbian experience together, Sigismondi does go a bit too far at times — the film opens with blood dripping down Fanning’s leg as she has her period.
If the above scenes weren’t proof enough, audiences who still picture Fanning as the little girl in “War of the Worlds” or “I Am Sam” should prepare to have their minds blown. At 16-years-old, Fanning is starting to take on more adult roles, and this film is a prime example. Nonetheless, she succeeds at capturing the volatile, sex kitten energy of Currie, and she even manages to do the artist justice belting out the band’s biggest hits.
Once again taking on the niche rebellious teen role, Stewart gives a spot-on portrayal of Jett, effortlessly capturing both the look and, more importantly, her renowned rock star attitude. Stewart even learned to play all the songs in the film on the guitar to ensure that her performance was as authentic as possible.
Despite a limited amount of screen time, Shannon does manage to steal some of Fanning and Stewart’s spotlight with his dastardly charming portrayal of one of the music industry’s most colorful individuals. Although the film as a whole doesn’t always crank it up to 11, Sigismondi has created a worthy chronicle of a legendary band whose story is one that needed to reach the silver screen. It may not be the best approach overall, but “The Runaways” certainly has its moments, and Fanning and Stewart don’t disappoint. At the very least, audiences get a chance to learn the story of five beautiful, badass girls who knew how to rock.
3 stars out of 5.
