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The Arbor

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United Kingdom · 2010
1h 34m
Director Clio Barnard
Starring Christine Bottomley, Manjinder Virk, Natalie Gavin, George Costigan
Genre Documentary, Drama

Portrayal of the late British playwright Andrea Dunbar, who wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the notorious Buttershaw Estate in Bradford. Just 29 years old when she died, her story is told by her daughter, Lorraine, who grows up to discover her mother’s life through her plays.

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What are critics saying?

80

Boxoffice Magazine by

Andrea Dunbar's portrait here is unforgiving; comparable to Joan Crawford in "Mommy Dearest" or Tobias Wolff's brass-knuckled dad in "This Boy's Life."

80

Empire by Anna Smith

Moving, bold, unconventional and impeccably staged, The Arbor is a worthy tribute to a powerfully artistic voice.

70

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Barnard's film, as if nervous of being felled by the straightforward, sinewy thump of Dunbar's writing, ducks and weaves in a series of sly approaches. [2 May 2011, p. 89]

100

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

The cumulative impact of The Arbor is one of claustrophobia; at times, the endlessly downbeat adventures of Dunbar and her offspring grow almost unbearably morose.

90

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

Like a Ken Loach drama stripped to bare bones, The Arbor springs to life in the bright bitterness of Dunbar's prose, showcased in alfresco performances of contentious scenes from the play.

80

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

The Arbor's pummeling second half begins with the collapse of its celebrity subject; the following spirals of self-destruction make you suspect that some childhoods are simply too hard to escape. Tough, worthy stuff.

100

Boston Globe by Loren King

An innovative hybrid of documentary, staged reading, fictional feature, and confessional, The Arbor defies categorization not merely for art's sake - although its artistry is without question - but because conventional forms seem inadequate for such a harrowing story.

100

Variety by Ronnie Scheib

Dramatically spellbinding and intellectually stimulating, picture abstractly manipulates multiple layers of representation to shattering effect.

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