Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull is about an odd little sea bird named Jonathan who just can't fit in with other gulls. With a deep admiration for flying and with a little practice, Jonathan eventually soars higher than any sea bird. The story is a fable about life (as flight) and a homily about self-perfection, and a lot of this finds its way into Levardi’s Run Out. While the quote that opens the film adequately meshes with its intent, there’s another excerpt that also applies: “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.”

The story is very straightforward and relies entirely on its images and curated score as its driving force. Its protagonist is a societal misfit at odds with his environment and bogged down with the minutiae of day-to-day life, which many viewers will be able to relate to. However, the choice to visually allude to the character’s internal turmoil exteriorly (he wears a dinosaur onesie) is a bit problematic, since we don’t ever see anyone who appears any different. With the exception of the ending, we don’t see another character, and the story here would have benefited greatly from some contrast.