The Arbor

To capture the complexities of a troubled domestic life in a documentary film is a tough task. And if the subject is a great personality, who has seen the heights of success, but lagged behind in personal life, the expectations scale ups.

But the documentary film on Andrea Dunbar does complete justice to her. It takes into consideration what the mother-daughter duo shared in the 10 years, when they were together. The director has made a masterpiece that does justice to what all happened in the life of Andrea. By making use of forgotten techniques of filming, going through what the people associated with her have to say, and shooting in the area where she once lived, The Arbor does bring alive the now dead, Andrea. The lady didn’t have a normal family life, as she was always at odds with her daughter.

The director walked the extra mile by making her daughter Lorraine confront what her mother was all about, making use of handwritten notes and her works of art. This made Lorraine reflect how life went about them, and how they grew far from each other. The 90-minute tale tries to capture what happened in the life of Andrea, the lady who left the world richer with works like Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Not much information is available about Andrea who died at the age of 29, but this work will surely be a welcome addition.