Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd’s third feature film (she also directed Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady) is an absolute treasure of a social-justice drama. In 2020’s Herself, cowriter and star Clare Dunne turns in a powerhouse performance as a single mom in Dublin trying to escape her abusive ex and make a nicer life for her small daughters. With the waiting list for social housing years long, she decides to take matters into her own hands — literally — to build her own house… a job that requires she also build a new bespoke family made up of friends and neighbors. This is a wonderfully humanist story about kindness and community, pride and accomplishment. We often talk about movies being uplifting, but here’s a movie about lifting yourself up.
US: stream on Prime
UK: rent on Curzon Home Cinema; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV
See Herself at Letterboxd for more viewing options.
