--- title: "The Arbor: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-arbor/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-arbor" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Arbor (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 14 reviews: 9 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Arbor, with praise centred on its blend of recorded testimony and staged performance. Actors lip-syncing real voices make memories vivid and unsettling for many reviewers, who find the approach emotionally powerful as well as formally inventive. The performances draw particular praise: The AV Club singles out Manjinder Virk as Lorraine, while several reviews stress the compassion beneath the film’s difficult portrait of the Dunbar family. Reservations concern whether those same techniques clarify the testimony or distract from it. Total Film finds the story powerful but muddled, with the lip-syncing an obstacle; Slant Magazine argues that the art-film framing sometimes competes with the documentary audio. Paste admires the method but finds that the shift towards Dunbar’s daughter weakens the focus. The spread runs from enthusiasm to qualified appreciation, with no outright negative verdict among the reviews counted. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 19 October 2010. The review describes the film as fascinating and slippery. It praises the storytelling trickery that makes its experimental approach engaging. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-arbor) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Rating A. 25 April 2011. Festival review. Kohn praises the film’s inventive approach to documentary storytelling, while finding its cumulative effect deeply claustrophobic. He singles out the lip-syncing actors and immersive staging as ways the film makes its subjects’ memories vivid and unsettling. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-non-fiction-innovation-clio-barnards-the-arbor-242817/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A-. 27 April 2011. Tobias praises the film’s ingenious docu-fiction approach while finding its portrait of the Dunbar family haunting and difficult to watch. He singles out Manjinder Virk’s mesmerizing performance as Lorraine. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-arbor-1798168070) ## Variety — Ronnie Scheib Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2010. Festival review. Scheib finds the film formally inventive, socially revelatory, and dramatically spellbinding. He especially praises how its verbatim-theater technique layers authentic voices with artificial imagery. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/the-arbor-1117942617/) ## Empire — Anna Smith Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2010. Smith finds the film a moving, bold and accessible tribute to Andrea Dunbar. She particularly praises its daring use of actors lip-syncing to recordings of Dunbar’s loved ones, combined with archive footage and estate settings. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/arbor-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 October 2010. Bradshaw finds the film a brilliant, compassionate tribute to Andrea Dunbar and her community. He especially praises Barnard’s eerie blend of documentary interviews and staged performance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/the-arbor-film-review) ## Vulture — Logan Hill Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 August 2018. The critic finds the film grotesquely powerful and formally unsettling. They praise its mesmeric use of recorded interviews, re-enactments, and lip-synched performances. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2011/04/three_movie_reviews_the_arbor.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheri Linden Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2011. Linden finds the film devastating, inventive and mesmerizing, while noting that Lorraine’s lament can become tiring. She particularly praises the seamless lip-sync performances and the daughters’ sharply contrasting emotional responses. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-may-13-la-et-arbor-20110513-story.html) ## Screen Daily — Mark Adams Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2010. The review's verdict is unavailable because the article text is behind a paywall. No specific praise or complaint is visible in the supplied page text. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-arbor/5013145.article) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2011. The blocked page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no details about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/movies/the-arbor-revisits-the-troubled-life-of-andrea-dunbar.html) ## Slant Magazine — Bill Weber Rating 2.5/4. 26 April 2011. Weber finds the film’s aesthetic approach effective only in part, as its art-film framing sometimes competes with the documentary audio. He singles out Monica Dolan’s performance and Andrea Dunbar’s archival footage as especially compelling. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-arbor/) ## Total Film — Philip Kemp Rating 3/5. 21 October 2010. Kemp finds the story powerful but muddled. He singles out the distracting effect of actors lip-synching the voices of Dunbar’s family and friends. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-arbor-review/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2010. Wilkinson finds the film intellectually ambitious and emotionally powerful. She especially praises its inventive blend of actors’ reenactments and interviewees’ real voices. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-arbor-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Paste — Paste Staff Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2011. The review finds the film formally inventive and intelligent, but says it loses focus when it shifts to Dunbar’s daughter. It praises the lip-syncing approach for enabling candid testimony while avoiding further trauma for participants. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/clio-barnard/the-arbor) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-arbor.md