The Runner
A stripped-back, mean, lean action-thriller set across the byways of London keeps the heart racing.
Run, Maia, Run: Gal Gadot
Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
If the prospect of AI gaining increasing control of our lives is not scary enough, along comes a film that illustrates just how frightening it can be in the wrong hands. Information is power and, if greed can trump moral accountability, power over other people’s lives can reap dividends. The premise of The Runner is pretty straightforward, but in the hands of Kevin Macdonald, he who directed the Oscar-winning One Day in September and Bafta-winning The Last King of Scotland and Touching the Void, it is given quite a cinematic sheen. It is a race-against-time scenario, in which an athletic lawyer (Gal Gadot) is given one hour to silence a key witness in a high-profile trial, or her son will be killed. Actually, it’s not as simple as that, as Maia’s son has been put into a hypoglycaemic coma, which only she can resuscitate him from. But first she must terminate the life of the witness, who is in the same hotel as her son, an hour’s run from Hampstead Heath where Maia has been out for her early morning jog…
The film starts with a panoramic view of a digitalised London, a maelstrom of texts, emails, phone calls and WhatsApp notifications as the populace connects over a crowded network of apparent gobbledegook. Then the camera zooms into the relative calm of the living quarters of Maia and her son Noah as they prepare for his school football match and her big day in court. They seem to be on top of things but when Maia asks Noah if he has changed his insulin pod, we know that his condition will come back to haunt them (it always does in these sorts of thrillers). Then, on her run, Maia gets a call from Noah’s mobile, only to hear the voice of a stranger who immediately sets out the tachycardic details of the next sixty minutes. The Stranger seems to know everything about her, having hacked into her various electronic devices, and is now able to track her every move. “Isn’t AI amazing?” he sneers. “Irresponsible to have unleashed it on the general public, really.” He – voiced by Damian Lewis – has even located Maia’s deleted photographs and upbraids her for her lack of digital hygiene. He is obviously one smart cookie and even with access to Maia’s heart rate, seems to have total control over her run across the capital.
There are worse things than watching Gal Gadot in tight spandex sprinting along the crowded pavements of Kentish Town, the towpaths of Regent’s Canal and the byways of St Pancras and the film is a visual treat. It certainly showcases the versatility of a city so frequently abused by Hollywood movies and the path that Maia takes is geographically precise. As a travelogue alone, The Runner is a constant pleasure to watch, while the extras should win some kind of collective accolade for their contribution (although much of the film was shot with hidden cameras). As unexpected blips complicate Maia’s course, the suspense is duly ratcheted up another notch, and then another. The persuasive realism of the mise en scène adds considerably to the tension, making for a gripping and decidedly novel, pulse-accelerating ride.
Cast: Gal Gadot, Damian Lewis, Rory Wilmot, Alfred Enoch, Phoenix Di Sebastiani, Kenton Lloyd Morgan, Jessica Cave.
Dir Kevin Macdonald, Pro David Kosse, Screenplay Mark Gibson, Ph Anthony Dod Mantle, Pro Des Kevin Timon Hill, Ed Sam Rice-Edwards, Music Tom Hodge, Costumes Michael O'Connor, Sound Glenn Freemantle, Dialect coach Jonathan Guy Lewis, Barista Kitty Lund.
Rockwood Pictures-Amazon Media.
86 mins. UK. 2026. UK and US Rel: 2 September 2026. Cert. 15.
