Rock-and-roll punk spectacle has rarely looked more spiffy or energetic than it does in Flori Sigmundi’s The Runaways, an entertaining and authentic biopic of the 1970’s all-girl band. Sigmundi shows an incredible flair for realism within the rock scene, employing a fly-on-the-wall perspective to the troubles and triumphs that come with being young, famous and surrounded by too many drugs and choices.

The Runaways never downplays the serious consequences its young protagonists face but it also steers clear of turgid melodrama by delivering spectacular performance pieces. If there is a flaw to the picture overall, it is one I’m not used to writing in print; the movie needs more Kristen Stewart.

Stewart, the usually bland but stalwart star of the Twilight pictures, proves her that her talent is indeed being wasted on that series. In fact, if she can harness half the restless energy and internal spirit that she summons as Joan Jett and filter it into Bella Swan, then I might be interested in tuning in for the rest of that milquetoast vampire saga. Of course, she’s got something here that she was never given in Twilight; a strong script and a living breathing person to inhabit.

Does it help that Joan Jett is both very real and very lively, and served as a consultant to Stewart on the film? Perhaps, but those are only the tools used. Stewart takes those resources and proves a vital point that Sigmundi might have missed; the film should have focused on Joan and filtered all of its gritty details and organic atmosphere through her perspective.

Of course, this is where reality gets in the way. Cherrie Currie, the quite young leader singer of The Runaways, wrote the book that the film is based on and Dakota Fanning portrays her in the movie. Jett was the one who approached Kim Fowley, the sometimes addled, sometimes creepy, preeminent  rock manager of the time, and asked him to handle the band. It is also Jett that managed to rise up from the ashes of the Runaways and have a quite successful 80’s career. She seems to come packaged with less dramatic issues than the unfortunate Currie, but she’s also more interesting as an artist. When Stewart nails the beating ambition and the punky spunky charm of Jett, the movie detaches from its imposed focus and gravitates towards Jett.

I liked Fanning fine as Cherie, and she really shines in those moments when the band is up on stage and performing. The work that more than likely drew her to the role–the dramatic bits that deal with her fractured family life and her dalliances with all manner of sex and drugs, including a superficial (or was it?) fling with Jett—is never quite as convincing. I felt like I was watching Fanning mimicking Currie’s habits and style in those moments, but when she’s rocking out, she appears to be completely at home within the skin of someone who never seemed all that comfortable in hers.

Part of this no doubt has to do with the fact that the trajectory of the band, including the usual rise and fall, lacks a lot of intense drama that might have come with a different group. There are the usual issues and tragedies that arise from being cast into a life you have little preparation to deal with. Sigmundi wisely focuses on the music and the snarly allure of these gal pal rockers, and in doing so, the movie occasionally feels at odds with itself. I found myself wondering afterwards if The Runaways might not have been more compelling as a fictional concert film of sorts, possibly condensing events down to an evening or two, or perhaps a focus on the tour circuit.

However, it does dawn on me that we might have a bit less development of Michael Shannon’s Kim Fowley if that were the case, and that would have been a shame. By far the most seasoned performer in the cast, Shannon came ready to work for The Runaways. He nails the portrayal of Fowley as a man both talented and diseased, opportunistic and caring; a borderline predator curiously contrasted with a warped surrogate daddy.

Shannon can deliver the unsettling, as was demonstrated in 2006’s Bug, where he played a crazed ex-military man who wanted desperately to search Ashley Judd’s skin for crawling microbes. What he can also do is perfectly encapsulate the external perception of a character while drawing inside a totally different landscape, and then using all of his acting skill to slowly and surely integrate the two disparate pieces into an intriguing whole. In a different film, Fowley might have been a background player despite being front and center for Currie’s book. With Shannon, he’s right there in the foreground sharing glorious interaction with the female leads.

The Runaways may have a few issues when it comes to focus, but it’s as strong as they come in terms of delivery. Sigmundi and her production team have given us a 70’s rock microcosm that feels as authentic as any captured. She pushes her stars to great heights and gets for her troubles, characters that fit snuggly into that world, all the while striving for it and straining against it all at the same time. The Runaways is an anthem for punk chick angst, and the surprising thing is that it never feels flimsy or adolescent.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

It just works. Here’s the first look at Kristen Stewart as the rock machine, Joan Jett, in the upcoming The Runaways written and directed by Floria Sigismondi.

She looks rather melancholy, right? Ms. Stewart’s post-Twilight career has lit up since her starring role as every tweens favorite love-lorn, angst-riddled teen, Bella. Then becoming a love-lorn, angst-riddled teen who does Ryan Reynolds in Adventureland, Stewart was quickly cast as the immortal rock chick, Joan Jett.

The Runaways will focus on Jett’s rise to stardom along with her band in the fabo ’70s. Dakota Fanning will play Cherie Currie, Stella Maeve will play Sandy West, and Alessandra Torresani will play Lita Ford in what will be Italian director Sigismondi’s first full-length feature film.

(sigh)