It’s not uncommon for actors and actresses to want to try their hand at directing a film. In fact many award winning directors started their career in front of the camera. Most of them however take their time building up experience and knowledge before making the leap to the director’s chair. The time they take helps them make a name for themselves, and get connections to give their career a boost.  27 year old writer / director Sophie Lane Curtis didn’t do that however. After only starring in a handful of movies, the young up and comer takes her spot both behind and in front of the camera to create a unique, yet difficult to follow to story about a young filmmaker who faces a crossroads in his life.

Henry (Micheál Richardson) has been struggling to write his first film for most of his life. The words just can’t come out the way he’d like, even though his script is based on his own life. When we first meet him we see the pages of his script line the walls of his home, and he continues to replay a message from Rosemary (Sophie Lane Curtis), an actress and his muse, over and over again. We quickly discover that he’s suicidal, and is ready to call it quits. The question is however, which voice will he listen to: the one telling him to jump, or the one telling him to focus on the story and let it all out.

On Our Way is a very hard movie to follow. It’s written in a non-linear way, and jumps between multiple timelines. It takes a bit of time to adjust each time a new scene begins. The same goes for figuring out exactly where in the story the scene belongs. There is a lot of repetition because of this. And it gives one the feeling that the material is too thin to stand on its own. It’s like someone took a jigsaw puzzle and put it together in a way that makes it difficult to understand.

It doesn’t help that the characters themselves are rather bland and not too interesting. The acting does stand on its own (especially Richardson who follows in his parents’ Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson tracks), but they don’t have a lot to work with to make them shine.  On Our Way can be very beautiful to look at, but it doesn’t come together the way it should have.

While cinematically beautiful, On Our Way doesn’t really offer anything in the way of a unique story that just had to be told. It’s one of those films that you watch, and forget about soon after the credits start to role. Curtis definitely shows confidence in her work and a willingness to take chances. But still, she needs more experience in filmmaking before she will produce anything of note. Taking more time in front of the camera will help. What may also help is finding an editor who will teach her the ropes on the best way to tell a story.