On My Own (1991) User Reviews

Insight and compassion...

[ozone · 6/10 · 3 August 2001]

I came across this film quite by chance, and am glad that I took the time to watch it.

It is, I guess, as the cover describes, a "coming of age" film, but it also more than that. A teenage boy has had the nature of his mother's illness concealed from him until now, and so he begins a journey toward understanding her, and himself. One might think that a film involving mental illness would be quite grim, but I didn't find it that way at all. It was compassionate but without being overly sentimental. The subplot of the boy's boarding school life and friendships reminded me just a little of Dead Poets Society, another film I have seen and enjoyed many times.

If you are interested in mental health or know someone with a mental illness then I would definitely recommend this film.

Great Film

[stevemt2001 · 10/10 · 9 March 2003]

"On My Own" is a great film that far too few people have seen. Judy Davis gave an excellent performance, which rightfully earned her an Australian Film Institute Award and Franco Piersanti's score is beautiful. This is a great movie which needs to be released on DVD!

Overview and Commentary

[pdorion · 8/10 · 16 December 2001]

On My Own is a very good coming-of-age film depicting Simon, a boy who lives at a boarding school in Canada, which is the primary setting for the movie.

During the Christmas break, Simon learns that his mother had a "breakdown" through his father. After visiting her at the hospital and learning her incapacity to spend the holidays with him, the boy chooses to return to the board instead of going on a ski trip with his father.

Having been incapable to see her son during the holidays, Simon's mother decides to visit him at school and informs him that she suffers from schizophrenia.

The movie focuses mainly on Simon's boarding lifestyle and his relationship with his mother, rather than his relationship with his mother's illness. Schizophrenia plays but a very superficial role in this movie.

However it was not what I expected, because of a misleading review, I greatly enjoyed this film. The movie in all its aspects is extremely well balanced. The characters are very well acted, the storyline is appealing, realistic and doesn't drip from emotions.

In summary, a very good, pleasant and balanced coming of age film.

dreaming without sleeping

[SteveSkafte · 10/10 · 10 July 2010]

The coldness of "On My Own" is extraordinary. It is detached without feeling inhuman, depressing without seeming hopeless. The title refers to a much deeper separation than merely physical. This is the only film I've ever seen that so completely gets across the loneliness and confusion of adolescence. Vic Sarin photographs with beautifully dim shadows and natural colours, picking up quite a bit of grain at times, but always feeling pure and human. Antonio Tibaldi directs at a extremely slow pace, allowing for the sort of honesty that only comes in quiet moments. The periodical dreams and hallucinations are breathtaking.

Two performances are the core of "On My Own" - Matthew Ferguson and Judy Davis. Ferguson isn't usually the sort of actor who would impress me, but here, he displays the uncommon honesty of youth that is so often hard to find. Judy Davis, playing (what is for her) another in a long line of mentally unstable roles, is stunning. Or, as the VHS case puts it, "strange and beautiful". She is quite welcome here, providing a solid core to a difficult story.

"On My Own" is only available on video, and I came across it quite by chance at a run-down little store that sells this sort of thing. I had been meaning to see it earlier in the year when I first discovered Judy Davis, but was unable to obtain a copy. If you're wondering whether or not it is worth the purchase, I can certainly recommend it. But only if you can enjoy an extremely slow-paced story.

A happy chance

[32charachters · 10/10 · 25 May 2019]

I came across this film thanks to a well known video host's algorithm. Though familiar with Judy Davis I had not heard of any other of the other acrtors. I was immediately drawn into a world that reminded me of " A Boys Own Story ". A perfect work of cinematic art that is undeservedly forgotten.