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Aug 05, 2015 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the worst environmental disaster in history. For 87 days in spring and summer 2010, oil gushes unabated into the Gulf of Mexico, obliterating the ecosystem, decimating the wildlife, and putting thousands of fishermen, tour operators, and other working-class people out of business. Luckily for the residents of southern Louisiana, they have a friend in Congressman Colin Price, who makes an emotioned, televised plea on behalf of his constituents to the government to save their businesses and clean up the spill. Unfortunately, Price’s rocketing political stardom and power implode under a devastating sex scandal right at the peak of the disaster’s spotlight.

Nicolas Cage stars as the fictitious politician in producer-turned-writer/director Austin Stark’s first feature. In addition to being able to capitalize on his public love for New Orleans, it’s clear the actor also saw in Stark’s script the ability to exercise his more dramatic, less manic acting chops. The balls-to-the-wall Nic Cage of The Wicker Man is nowhere to be found in The Runner. In his place is a pensive, emotive actor with depth, perhaps one trying to remind the world that his place in Hollywood isn’t purely cemented in over-the-top mugging primed for a YouTube montage. The Runner gives Cage the ability to exercise his range and to portray a much more relatable, flawed human whose heart, though perhaps too freely shared, is most often in the right place.

The film dances with—and around—hurdles such as alcoholism and infidelity, forgiving as easily as it seems to forget at times. Though Price’s actions are more or less believable, the fallout from them doesn’t always ring completely true. And even when the cards seem completely stacked against him, it’s hard to imagine that things will fail to work out for the floundering politician. Stark’s script isn’t flawless, but it paints an honest portrait of a man trying to do right in the face of a tainted personal history, public outcry, and insurmountable external influences (namely, other people’s and corporations’ money and greater power).

therunner-movie.com

Author rating: 6/10