An Amazon Studios Picture, Written by Malcolm Campbell, Clare Dunne, Directed by Phyllida Lloyd.
Young mother Sandra (Clare Dunne) escapes her abusive husband and fights back against broken housing and justice systems. She sets out to build her own home so that she can have somewhere to raise her two children safely, and in the process, rebuilds her life and rediscovers herself. The film is co-written by star Dunne, and is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, of Mamma Mia (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011).
This film is one that people who have suffered domestic abuse should be warned about beforehand as the film opens straight away with a brutal and incredibly distressing scene of domestic abuse being perpetrated on Sandra by her husband Gary (Ian Lloyd Anderson), as he viciously attacks her in front of one of their kids. This proves to be a launching off point for the story as when she physically recovers, she leaves her husband and attempts to find a life on her own with her two kids.
However, as the housing system fails her and doesn’t provide a home for her and her kids, a desperate Sandra finds respite in her employer and friend Peggy (Harriet Walter), who allows Sandra to use land at the bottom of her garden to build a house for Sandra and the kids. Along with the help of some kind new friends, including Aido (Conleth Hill), Sandra sets to the project of planning and building this home for herself and giving her family the second-chance it desperately needs. This doesn’t always run smoothly and there are some devastating twists and harrowing turns along the way, but the journey allows Sandra to find her joy again, in herself, her family, and her new friends. There is a real sense that loving family and community can overcome most things if people work together for the common good, which is a lesson we may need to hear now more than ever.
The film is very much a character-based drama, and doesn’t particularly venture into genre, but the scenes where Gary is in the same place as Sandra play out like slow build horror, with the tension and threat of violence hanging over every moment, and it effectively portrays the way in which a person in Sandra’s position would be terrified at every moment in that scenario, and how it should never be allowed to reach that stage.
At times the film does start to lose focus and occasionally battles to maintain a consistent tone, with one of the main reasons for this is the strange and at times jarring decision to occasionally play very loud and upbeat pop music at dramatic moments. It is very clearly a specific choice from Lloyd, but it may have the effect for many of taking them out of the moment.
Clare Dunne, in a role that is clearly very personal to her, gives a totally natural and completely devastating performance. Every note of what she does on screen is full of authenticity, never slipping into melodrama, and despite the suffering she has to go through, Dunne still finds a way to find a humour and fully rounded personality to Sandra, never allowing her to be defined by the abuse. There is one scene in particular, in a court room as Sandra is forced to fight for custody of her children against the man who abused her, and Dunne delivers one of the most heart-wrenching speeches put on film in many years.
Overall, this film is a moving and truly important exploration of both domestic abuse and of the Irish housing crisis, whilst also giving us one of the years finest performances from co-writer/star Clare Dunne. It is not an easy watch at any point, and the ending is no different, with a realistically bittersweet note that both devastates and uplifts you. Despite being such a tough watch at times, it is an incredibly important one and people should seek it out.
Rating = 4/5
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