88
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibDramatically spellbinding and intellectually stimulating, picture abstractly manipulates multiple layers of representation to shattering effect.
- 100Boston GlobeLoren KingBoston GlobeLoren KingAn 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.
- 91The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasIt helps that the actors' faces are so mesmerizing, particularly Manjinder Virk as Lorraine.
- 90The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisLike 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.
- 80EmpireAnna SmithEmpireAnna SmithMoving, bold, unconventional and impeccably staged, The Arbor is a worthy tribute to a powerfully artistic voice.
- 80Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe 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.
- 80Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanBarnard makes the psychological mayhem Dunbar endured and inflicted tangible.
- 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."
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneBarnard'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]