Herself

When I was choosing my tickets for Sundance last year, I had Herself on my list but I ultimately ended up getting tickets for other films.  I hoped that it would get a wide release at some point so I was really excited to be able to see it last night in advance of it streaming on Prime Video next week.  Sandra (Clare Dunne) flees her abusive husband Gary (Ian Lloyd Anderson) and takes her young daughters Molly (Molly McCann) and Emma (Ruby Rose O'Hara) with her.  She ends up living in a hotel and working two menial jobs while dealing with the never ending bureaucracy to find public housing.  Exasperated with the delays, she decides to take matters into her own hands and build a house herself.  She finds plans for a basic house online, acquires a piece of land from her employer (Harriet Walter), convinces a contractor (Conleth Hill) that she randomly meets at a home improvement store to work for free on weekends, and slowly finds a community of friends and strangers willing to help her.  As she builds this house, she also begins to rebuild her life despite the many overwhelming obstacles that she has to overcome in the process.  This is an incredibly poignant and inspirational story about empowerment and resiliency that I really enjoyed, especially the emphasis on the goodness of ordinary people which I found to be quite moving.  Dunne, who also co-wrote the screenplay, gives an affecting and believable performance that makes you want to cry and then stand up and cheer.  Even though this movie explores some really dark themes of spousal abuse, economic instability, and homelessness, it has a hopeful tone (even after the twist in the third act). The only complaint I have about this movie is that I sometimes couldn't understand the thick Irish accents but I would definitely recommend it (with the proviso that it includes some violence and language).  It is in theaters for a limited engagement and then will stream on Prime Video beginning on January 8.