The Runaways is a heart-breaking yet extremely endearing story about three siblings Angie, Ben and Polly who, following a family tragedy, must travel across the North Yorkshire Moors with their two donkeys in search of a new home.
The cast and the characters they portray are a huge part of why this film is so good, they are all so authentic and believable which really helped my enjoyment of the film. Molly Windsor is so endearing as Angie, she effortlessly portrays the struggle between someone who must fulfil a mother role while at the same time wanting to be a regular teenager. Rhys Connah as Ben shows fantastic versatility switching between a character who understands his sisters' plight and sympathizes with her to someone who is extremely frustrated with their situation and does not know how to fully express it. Macy Shackleton's upbeat persona as Polly brings a shining light to the otherwise sad situation the siblings find themselves in. Lee Boardman plays Uncle Blythe with characteristic menace while at the same time showing flashes of humanity making his character much more that a regular film antagonist. Mark Addy and Tara Fitzgerald round off the cast as the siblings' Father Reith and Mother Maggie both giving deep and thought-provoking performances with the small amount of screen time they have.
The chemistry between the cast is great, you would be forgiven for thinking the three leads were related in real life. They deliver their lines with such authenticity and purpose, one scene that stood out to me was Angie admonishing Polly, "She's just a kid" Ben scolds her "So am I!" she angrily reminds him. The deliver was so great, and you really felt for the characters. My favourite scene is where Ben is tasked with distracting a guard at Grosmont railway station so they can smuggle the donkeys aboard and Rhys Connah is fantastically charming and witty in his attempt, going as far as to ask the guard for an autograph so that he has to wander off to find some paper, it is a truly great scene.
The film uses many beautiful locations throughout North Yorkshire from the sprawling bays of Whitby and Runswick to the gorgeous market town of Pickering and all the wonderful moorland in-between. I do not think I have ever seen Yorkshire look so beautiful on film before. Some of the aerial shots are absolutely fantastic and really help to set the scene and give the viewer a great picture of the places the siblings are traveling through and all of the beauty they contain. As someone who was born in Yorkshire and has travelled the region extensively it was great to see many places that I have visited myself and I really appreciate how well they were used in the film.
The film was directed and written by Richard Heap and although it is his first feature film it never feels like it due to its professional and competent nature of the whole project. Heap has stated that he wanted to create an old school Children's adventure story that people could watch and imagine themselves in the adventure, I would argue that he was successful and then some.
As a fan of independent films, I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a down to earth story, set in beautiful scenery with and extremely talented cast and crew.
The Runaways is available to purchase on DVD or digitally from TheRunaways. film.
