Ahead of a gangland murder trial, Maia is going for a morning jog through London. But then Lewis (known only as "The Caller") rings to say he is holding her son Noah (Rory Wilmot) – in a diabetic coma – and she has one hour to cross town and execute the star witness (Phoenix Di Sebastiani), or her child will die. The kicker? She must do so entirely on foot. It’s not called The Runner for nothing.
Throughout his career, Macdonald has mixed documentary (Whitney, Marley, Touching the Void) and fiction (The Mauritanian, State of Play, The Last King of Scotland), often seeming happiest in the space between the two. What works best in The Runner is the way he packs in tiny, telling glimpses into the everyday existences of background characters as Maia races by.
Mantle is best known for his work with Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, T2 Trainspotting), and he captures the kineticism of capital life with similar verve. Indeed, some shots – especially one which shows Maia steaming through an empty Somerset House – seem to recall the pair’s astonishing opening to 28 Days Later (produced by Kevin’s brother, Andrew).
Just because The Runner is a good London film, does not, sadly, make it a good film. The Caller gives Maia several rules she must follow – keep running, don’t talk to anyone and obey orders at all cost. Instead of sticking to the formula, however, Mark Gibson’s script repeatedly pulls her off track, only for The Caller to instantly forgive her. "Rules are made to be broken!" he reasons. Sure, but ransom demands aren’t.
View Green Video on the source websiteBut the biggest culprit is, also, the culprit. Lewis is a charismatic actor, yet his character is little more than a string of movie villain cliches, and some of his lines are downright terrible. "You’ve been running from your past, haven’t you?" he asks, while castigating Maia for her life choices, such as snapping sexy pictures ("Your digital hygiene is terrible!") and repeatedly ordering the same chicken ramen dish ("You’re stuck in a rut!"). Maybe, after a hard day’s lawyering, she just felt like chicken tonight?
The Runner is released on Prime Video on Wednesday 2 September.
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