There’s something quietly disarming about watching Saoirse Ronan step away from the usual press junket noise and into a park with a mug of tea in hand. That’s the premise of A MUG OF LIFE, the BBC Breakfast segment that trades red-carpet small talk for something slower and more honest, as Ronan reflects on personal transitions, her enduring pull toward songwriting and storytelling, and the value of staying present in a noisy world. Four Oscar nominations into a career that started in childhood, she talks with the ease of someone who has made peace with not having all the answers, tracing her happiest moments back to nature rather than the industry around her.

That same appetite for risk shows up in BAD APPLES, landing in UK cinemas September 18. Directed by Jonatan Etzler, the dark comedy casts Ronan as Maria, an idealistic Somerset primary school teacher who, after one disastrous encounter with her most disruptive pupil, ends up locking the boy in her basement. Critics are split in the best way: TIME OUT gave it four stars and called Ronan the best thing in it, Sight & Sound praised its wicked suggestion that the real rot sits with the adults, and Letterboxd reviewers have hailed it as a radical, fearless turn for her. Others were cooler, with VARIETY noting the premise makes for tricky commercial footing and THE SCOTSMAN arguing the satire gets dulled by how far the plot strays from reality.

Together, the two make a striking contrast, one Ronan calmly sipping tea and reflecting on stillness, the other locking a ten-year-old in a basement. Either way, it’s a reminder of just how wide her range continues to stretch.