Dakota Fanning (center), Kristen Stewart (right) in The Runaways
THE RUNAWAYS: Kristen Stewart's Reviews
Kristen Stewart — looking remarkably different from Robert Pattinson's human lover in Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon — Dakota Fanning, and Michael Shannon star in The Runaways, written and directed by Floria Sigismondi (right).
Adapted from The Runaways' singer Cherie Currie's autobiography, The Runaways tells the story of the all-girl rock band of the late '70s. Stewart plays rocker Joan Jett; Shannon is record producer Kim Fowley.
"Consensus: Viewers expecting an in-depth biopic will be disappointed, but The Runaways is as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart." Rotten Tomatoes.
"This is a movie that shows women taking control of their own lives, bodies and voices, without polite curtsies to the establishment – and really, that's exactly what The Runaways represented to a whole generation of young women who came of age circa 1977." Katherine Monk at Canwest News Service (via the Vancouver Sun).
"The trouble is that while this take on the rock-band-makes-good genre has been made with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, it lacks that final burst of inspiration that would have set it apart from other similar films. That is bad enough but what is especially heartbreaking is the fact that all the material required to actually do that is sitting right there and for some inexplicable reason, the filmmakers have failed to take advantage of much of it and while the end result may have the salutary effect of exposing younger viewers to the group, it fails to offer much of a compelling case for its own existence." Peter Sobczynski at efilmcritics.com.
"I'll be blunt about this: I really wasn't looking forward to this movie. I'm not the biggest fan of lip-chewing, hair-twirling Kristen Stewart, or the wide-eyed, blank face expert Dakota Fanning. I love rock and roll … but these two starring in a movie about an all-girl, teen sensation, flash in the pan band from the 1970s? I just didn't think they could pull it off. Hey, at least I'm big enough to admit I was wrong." Kevin Kelly at Cinematical.
"But once Shannon lurches off-screen, we’re left with five teenagers, most of whom are only sketched out. … And when the most interesting character in a rock ’n’ roll movie is the manager, that’s not a good sign. Stewart, the best of the rest, tries hard here. Fanning briefly comes to life during one concert scene." Stephen Whitty at NJ.com.
"But Ms. Sigismondi infuses crucial scenes with a rough, energetic spirit, and shows a willingness to accept the contradictions inherent in the material without prurience, moralism or too much sentimentality. The movie may be a little too tame in the end, but at its best it is just wild enough." A.O. Scott in the New York Times.
"The problem with The Runaways, a street-level snapshot of the creation of the groundbreaking '70s all-girl rock band, is that they went with the wrong girl." Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times.
Photo: Apparition
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