The Runaways
Directed by Floria Sigismondi
Review by Thomas W. Campbell
On March 17, 2010 I did a Q and A with director Floria Sigismondi, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning following the NBR screening of The Runaways. Stewart and Fanning were very young that day, thrilled to be back together for the publicity tour and making me feel like the professor keeping one eye on the adult while hoping to keep the kids out of trouble. It was fun and a bit unpredictable, like the movie itself.
The Runaways, based on the short eventful career of one of rock’s first all-girl bands, captures the time and place of Southern California, mid-to-late 1970’s, with energy and style. The Runaways were formed in 1975, breaking the mold of musical groups until that time, challenging the male-dominated rock scene. Put together by a musician-manager-provocateur named Kim Fowley (played with crazed bravado by Michael Shannon), the band was embodied by 15-year-old beauty Cherie Curie (Dakota Fanning) and slightly older leather-tough Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart). It was a time when kids were all forming bands, but there were few if any role models for a young girl who wanted to rock–and no all-girl bands at all. The Runaways is based in part on the book “Neon Angel: the Cherie Currie Story” by Cherie Currie and is directed by Floria Sigismondi, an artist and photographer who has made memorable music videos with David Bowie, The White Stripes, Sheryl Crow, and others. Sigismondi has created an exceptional film that is part biography, part musical history, and best of all a gritty but fun coming-of age-story about a group of girls who want to do what others feel they are incapable of–be rock-and-roll stars.
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