Building one’s own house is an amazing accomplishment but when you have two young daughters to take care of and an abusive husband to stay away from, the house becomes more than a project, its becomes the means to escape and freedom. A home is more than the place to live in, it is a symbol for a safe haven to rest your head at the end of a long day where your struggles seem never ending.
After finally leaving her a violent husband, Sandra lives in a hotel near the airport with her two young girls. Placed there by social housing while she searches for a new place they can move into, Sandra also has to contend with driving back forth to town for work and so her daughters can get to school. Finding she has little to no options, Sandra decides to build her own house. With the help from an employer who lets her build on her land and the generosity of a few friends, she sets about building her home and the hope of a better life.
Hard hitting drama is not hard to come by at the cinema. There are always dramas that hammer home the difficulties that some of us have no idea about. The trials that Sandra has to go through throughout the story have been explored in other films but the heart and soul of the story is Sandra herself, played brilliantly by Clare Dunne. Practically in every scene and second of the film, she is struggles but she is not down trodden. She moves ahead with determination and does not falter. The story does move in a few unrealistic ways but this is a film after all, we need a story after all, the fact the doctor Sandra cleans for practically gifts her the land to build her house is a nice touch but mostly unbelievable. The rallying of work friends, acquaintances and builders who she met in a hardware shop is actually very uplifting. The moment the house is finished is very emotional and really where the film should have ended but as we all needed to be reminded that not everything can have a happy ending and Herself is no exception feels quite cruel and leaves you with an ache and rage in the bottom of your stomach.
Despite the constant downpour of struggles that this one woman faces, the film does have its uplifting moments of joy and inspiration which nearly makes up for the bleak point near the end.