Floria Sigismondi’s retelling of the tale of the all-female, all-adolescent rock band The Runaways covers their origin to the time that lead singer Cherie Curie (Dakota Fanning) quits due to…insubordination?  The uncertainty in that summary captures the lack of coherence in this fairly standard rock biopic.  The members of the band are brought together by record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon, fairly awful) in an effort to shock and change the music world forever.  In the end, they probably did, but not in the way Fowley intended.  He had hoped to use them to sell sexualized images of underage girls to horny rock fans, but instead the band paved the way for future generations of all-female bands.

The most important aspect of the Runaways (the band) is this latter point.  Their members went on to considerable success later, especially Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart, nearly outstanding) and Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton, shrill in an underwritten part).  Many female rock musicians cite them as an important influence, and some of their material stands up well today.  Unfortunately, the writer-director fails to get this across due to her unwillingness to simply tell the story.  The visuals are flashy and impressionistic, but they don’t add up to anything substantial.  It is clear from the film that Curie and Jett had a sexual relationship but its significance is unclear.  Dakota Fanning is good in the film and, frankly, her dead-eyed nihilistic teen is a little too convincing.  Much like the original band, I suppose.  There is an air of great tragedy around the Runaways (the band) but the movie fumbles in trying to capture its essence.  Outside the performances and the music, there just isn’t much to recommend.  ✰ ✰.

MJM  11-14-2011