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Nora Fingscheidt proved herself a filmmaking force to be reckoned with when her narrative feature debut, System Crasher, burst into the world four years ago. The critically acclaimed social drama packed an emotional wallop and Fingscheidt's latest drama, The Outrun, will hit just as hard.

Based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by author and journalist Amy Liptrot, The Outrun is a passionate story of addiction and recovery. As star and producer, Saoirse Ronan is already getting awards- season buzz. The four-time Oscar-nominated actor is emphatically supported by Paapa Essiedu, Saskia Reeves and Stephen Dillane, as she charts a 29-year-old Scottish woman's efforts to stay sober while reacquainting herself with the breathtaking isle where she spent a tumultuous childhood.

Building on the screen story developed by Daisy Lewis, Fingscheidt and Liptrot, there's a frantic energy injected into this fractured tale, which floats back and forth in time to landmark moments in Rona's life. These include the mental health events involving her father that tarnished her upbringing on the Orkneys; becoming increasingly lost and disconnected in London while studying to become a biologist; and the restorative connection with the sea and birdlife she rediscovers as an RSPB volunteer that teach her to feel alive again.

The Outrun refuses to sugarcoat the harsh realities of addiction but heart, hope and humour offer a hard-won, yet inspiring way out. This is a drama as much about hitting rock bottom as it is about building yourself back up and accepting who you are, warts and all. The extremes within [Rona] make her who she is," says Fingscheidt. "It's those two lines from Amy's book that we remembered on set every day: 'The edge is where I come from. The edge is my home.'"

Fingscheidt takes audiences on a stirring voyage, with bold visuals, striking natural vistas and a supersonic soundscape to shake your bones. "We wanted to create a poetic film where the images and atmosphere stay with you for a long time after watching," says Fingscheidt. "A film that takes you on a journey, not just to Orkney or London, but a spiritual journey into the inner world of a young woman, raised under extreme circumstances, searching for her place in life without alcohol."

There is true beauty in Rona's soulful reunion with herself and nature. Shooting in the same locations Liptrot travelled to – including the tiny island of Papa Westray – provided a luminous canvas for Ronan to paint her thundering portrait of a troubled woman. Fingscheidt gloriously harnesses the elements to explore the folklore, myths and legends of Scotland's natural world.

"Lit up in a glow of stormy sea spray, Orkney is majestic – as is Saoirse Ronan," said Time Out after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year and other critics have been just as effusive. The Guardian calls it "a moving and delicate adaptation", while Ronan's performance has been declared "a career high" by the Sunday Independent.

The Outrun is certainly worth running to the cinema for.   Hanna Flint