The Arbor

"A Documentary Re-Invented"

2010 1h 31m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 49

DramaDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled "The Arbor".

“A Documentary Re-Invented”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Christine Bottomley
Lisa Thompson
Manjinder Virk
Lorraine Dunbar
Natalie Gavin
The Girl
George Costigan
Jimmy 'The Wig'
Monica Dolan
Ann Hamilton
Neil Dudgeon
Steve Saul
Jimi Mistry
Yousaf
Robert Emms
Young David

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clio Barnard
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clio Barnard, shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Molly Nyman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nick Fenton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christine Bottomley and Manjinder Virk and Natalie Gavin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Documentary Re-Invented".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1623008 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 49 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clio Barnard directs. Ole Bratt Birkeland behind the camera. Molly Nyman scores. Nick Fenton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 16 years ago.
2Directed by Clio Barnard, shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Molly Nyman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Nick Fenton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Christine Bottomley and Manjinder Virk and Natalie Gavin carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A Documentary Re-Invented".
7IMDB entry: tt1623008 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 49 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "prison", "autobiography", "interracial relationship", "domestic abuse".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ole Bratt Birkeland
Original score: Molly Nyman
Editing: Nick Fenton
Production design: Matthew Button
Costume design: Matthew Price
Makeup / hair: Sue Wyburgh
Sound: Tim Barker
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Box office: $21,268
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Arbor (2010)

Also by

Clio Barnard

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-01-16
★ 7/10
Using a combination on documentary style film making and some more theatrical re-enactments, this takes a candid approach to it’s telling of the story of troubled playwright Andrea Dunbar - probably most famous for her “Rita, Sue and Bob Too”. The arbor in question is a street on the 1950s Buttershaw housing estate in the Yorkshire city of Bradford, and it’s primarily through the eyes of those portraying her children that we get a glimpse of the booze and drug-fuelled lives of many who lived in this working class community. Lorraine (Manjinder Virk) and Lisa (Christine Bottomley) quite ably provide a running narrative combining some more overtly recreated episodes with some cleverly presented lip-synched deliveries from actual conversations that occurred with their mother, between themselves and with their neighbours as they grew up - and they do that convincingly throughout. If you did live in any of Britain’s northern urban areas in the 1970s, then there is a lot relatable here. The sense of community spirit is writ large, but so is the racism that prevails amidst a society that profoundly disapproves of any inter-racial relationships - an issue that personally impacts on Lorraine and arguably sets her in train for a life of her own not dissimilar from those experienced and described by her mother. There is also some actuality featuring Dunbar here too, which reminds us that not only was this a woman of keen observational skills, but also one possessed of quite a degree of wit, too and her descriptions are compelling, authentic and darkly humorous into the bargain. The ensemble cast contribute hugely to this docu-drama with some playing real people, and others playing actors playing real people - and the staging of scenes on their grassy common using basic props and with neighbours watching on has something uncomfortably honest about it. It’s not the cheeriest of films as it progresses, indeed it frequently offers us a gloom and doom that it can be quite hard to sympathise with as many of the characters seem content to wallow in their own self-perpetuated disillusionment, but it certainly offers food for thought.

Production companies