Surreal, fast-paced band biopic

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2010)

I saw The Runaways at the Sydney Film Festival and loved it. It captures the look and feel of a bygone music era that is fascinating even if you didn't live through it and even if you're not much of a rock music fan.
Possibly because most of the real-life characters are still alive, the story isn't as gritty nor the characters as flawed as they probably were. There's a sense of glossing over certain areas, and never travelling very deep below the surface. We get barely any backstory on the characters, and their motivations are not always clear. But in some ways this shallowness is an advantage, along with the visual sequences used to convey drug-taking and breakdowns. They give the film a mystery and a music-video quality. At times I was even reminded of Twin Peaks.
Michael Sheen's performance as Kim Fowley is outstanding. It's been claimed in many reviews that he's portrayed as the "bad guy", and certainly many people in the audience appeared to react to him like a pantomime villain. (It was surprising how shockable the Sydney audience seemed in parts). To me Fowley came across as a good guy: a brilliant producer who knew his craft, knew how to train a music act, knew his audience, knew his media and promotions. Yes: he knows that jailbait is a big part of the appeal of a young, all-girl rockband. But his interest is portrayed as purely commercial, not personal. He's surprisingly stand-off and arms-length with the band, he doesn't even travel with them on tour.
Dakota Fanning is brilliant as Cherie Curry: I recently watched a video of the actual Cherry Bomb performance in Japan and the costumes and routine are almost identical. Fanning has that rare acting quality of absolute stillness - even vacancy - at times, which is gripping. Riley Keough as her twin sister Marie is very well cast: the two girls look eerily alike in many scenes. Kristen Stewart is also impressive as Joan Jett, though her character doesn't get quite the same focus, given the film is based on Curry's autobiography. Other than the drummer Sandy West, played by Stella Maeve, the other bandmates are rarely heard from. Which is a shame, because Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita West puts in one great scene near the end.
You may leave with the impression that there's a place for "The Joan Jett Story" and that it would be a more interesting, and probably more honest, film. Joan Jett certainly comes across as a really amazing woman, ahead of her years and time, in The Runaways.