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An extremely tragic, bleak account of the life and family of playwright Andrea Dunbar. I enjoyed Clio Barnard's 'The Selfish Giant', which was based in Yorkshire, and have been meaning to get round to 'The Arbor' for ages; I've no idea why I waited so long - it's a brilliant piece of work. Andrea Dunbar was just 15 when she wrote her first play, and 10 years later, 'Rita, Sue and Bob too' was developed for the big screen. She was a flawed talent, and lived in extreme poverty on a council estate.
It's basically presented in two formats - actors 'lip synching' to recorded interviews of Dunbar's family; and her plays acted out in real time on the streets of Bradford. In that sense this is like a hybrid version of a documentary and movie - in much the same way that 2016's 'Notes on Blindndess' was.
The events of Dunbar's life and her daughters' lives are told through these interviews and on screen plays. Some of the stories are extremely moving and tragic. But the way in which Barnard captures them and films the actors is quite brilliant. This should be talked about far more than it is, and may even be one of the great British documentaries.
'The Arbor' (2010)
Dir.: Clio Barnard
Dir.: Clio Barnard
An extremely tragic, bleak account of the life and family of playwright Andrea Dunbar. I enjoyed Clio Barnard's 'The Selfish Giant', which was based in Yorkshire, and have been meaning to get round to 'The Arbor' for ages; I've no idea why I waited so long - it's a brilliant piece of work. Andrea Dunbar was just 15 when she wrote her first play, and 10 years later, 'Rita, Sue and Bob too' was developed for the big screen. She was a flawed talent, and lived in extreme poverty on a council estate.
It's basically presented in two formats - actors 'lip synching' to recorded interviews of Dunbar's family; and her plays acted out in real time on the streets of Bradford. In that sense this is like a hybrid version of a documentary and movie - in much the same way that 2016's 'Notes on Blindndess' was.
The events of Dunbar's life and her daughters' lives are told through these interviews and on screen plays. Some of the stories are extremely moving and tragic. But the way in which Barnard captures them and films the actors is quite brilliant. This should be talked about far more than it is, and may even be one of the great British documentaries.