Movielogr
The Arbor (2010)
Directed by Clio Barnard
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Overview
The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled “The Arbor”.
Length 91 minutes
Actors
Christine Bottomley | Manjinder Virk | Natalie Gavin | George Costigan | Monica Dolan | Neil Dudgeon | Jimi Mistry | Robert Emms | Kate Rutter | Danny Webb | Matthew McNulty | Kathryn Pogson | Jonathan Jaynes | Lizzie Roper | Liam Price | Robert Haythorne | Parvani Lingiah | Gary Whitaker | Jamie Timlin | Kulvinder Ghir | Moey Hassan | Josh Brown
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/02/2012 | Other | Streaming | TV | 4 stars |
| (Average) 4 stars |
Viewing Notes
Off-kilter, strange and utterly fascinating, The Arbor shows the devastating destruction of a family over the course of a few decades. Shot with unconventional techniques, Clio Barnard chooses a more cinematic approach for the true story of playwright Andrea Dunbar and her dysfunctional family. The dialogue is recorded and dubbed over a few actors, each representing a different person of the Dunbar clan. The results are at first strange and unsettling, but soon the odd depiction settles and becomes absolutely necessary to the story being told.
In addition to using actors to mouth the dialogue recorded off screen, the documentary is shot in a more cinematic style using cinematography more at home in a narrative rather than a documentary. It aids the first 45 minutes or so, as that’s when the film is at it’s most interesting. Unfortunately the movie at 94 minutes feels about 20 minutes too long with an extended portion of the second half devoted to Lorraine Dunbar, Andrea’s drug ridden daughter. The story is captivating but all the energy seems to drop out around the 60 minute mark.
Much of that energy comes from the aforementioned techniques but also the unconventional performance of the actual play, “The Arbor”, that Andrea wrote so early in her life. I found myself completely entranced by the mini performances put on by the multiple actors, specifically the young man who plays Andrea’s brother. More of this later in the movie would have better setup the parallels between the Dunbars and what Andrea was writing about as well as break up a somewhat dull stretch of Lorraine’s personal choices. At a certain point I understood that Lorraine was a terrible parent. I understood that it might have been because of Andrea and because of her violent childhood, I didn’t need it beaten into my skull.
Despite the lull in the middle, I found the entire story incredibly interesting and the unique approach to telling it fascinating to watch. At the end of the day I can’t get this stuff out of my head. The brutal realism will stick with you.
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