Rent The Arbor (2010)
3.6 of 5 from 146 ratings
1h 34min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
A fascinating fusion of narrative and documentary from Clio Barnard, 'The Arbor' tells the powerful true story of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar (The Arbor, Rita, Sue and Bob Too) and her daughter Lorraine. Dunbar wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the Buttershaw Estate, in Bradford. When she died, tragically at the age of 29 in 1990, Lorraine (Manjinder Virk) was just ten years old. 'The Arbor' catches up with Lorraine in the present day, also at 29: ostracised from Buttershaw and her family. Through compelling interviews we learn that Lorraine sees her mother as a destructive force, whom Lorraine blames for all that is wrong in her life. Through interviews with other members of the Dunbar family, we see a contrasting view of Andrea, in particular from Lorraine's younger sister Lisa (Christine Bottomley). Using actors to seamlessly lip-sync the words of real-life subjects, the film presents a contrasting and not always flattering view of Dunbar. 'The Arbor' is a compelling and essential work, offering evidence that Barnard is clearly an important new voice in British Cinema. - Actors:
- Manjinder Virk, Christine Bottomley, Natalie Gavin, Parvani Lingiah, Danny Webb, Kate Rutter, Liam Price, Robert Haythorne, Josh Brown, Gary Whitaker, Jamie Timlin, Jimi Mistry, Robert Emms, Kathryn Pogson, Jonathan Jaynes, Richard Dunbar, Scott Brandon, Anne-Marie Barwell, Shelly Norman, George Costigan
- Directors:
- Clio Barnard
- Producers:
- Tracy O'Riordan
- Voiced By:
- Andrew Dunbar, David Dunbar, Lorraine Dunbar, Pamela Dunbar, Ann Hamilton, Steve Saul, Max Stafford-Clark, Lisa Thompson, Jimmy the Wig
- Others:
- Tracy O'Riordan
- Studio:
- Verve Pictures
- Genres:
- Documentary, Drama, Special Interest
- Collections:
- Top 10 Award Winners at the London Film Festival, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 14/03/2011
- Run Time:
- 94 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- Colour
- Bonus:
- Theatrical trailer
- Short film: "Road race"
- Audio description
More like The Arbor
Found in these customers lists
Reviews (1) of The Arbor
Truth in Lip-Sync - The Arbor review by griggs
Half documentary, half séance, this one turns testimony into theatre. The Arbor uses actors to lip-sync real interviews, a risky device that shouldn’t work and mostly does. Hearing the voices while watching performed faces creates a flicker of distance that sharpens what’s said: memory as performance, truth as edit.
The subject is Andrea Dunbar, Buttershaw estate, and the shockwaves that outlived her—talent, poverty, drink, fame, and a family trying to survive the lot. Barnard stages scenes from Dunbar’s plays on the estate streets, folding art back into the postcode it came from. The method lets contradictions sit without tidy verdicts: pride and resentment, love and damage, all audible in the same breath.
It’s not cosy and not tidy. The device can feel arch for a beat, but the cumulative power is undeniable. Barnard keeps her nerve and her distance, letting people speak and then letting silence do the rest. As a portrait, it’s clear-eyed; as an experiment, bracing. The Arbor isn’t a hagiography—more a hard listen that earns its feeling.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.