Stories We Tell

A highly personal documentary from actress (Dawn of the Dead, The Sweet Hereafter) and director (Away from Her, Take This Waltz) Sarah Polley who, through home movies, personally conducted family interviews, and narration provided by her actor father Michael, traces the history of her vibrant, now deceased mother and how Michael may not have been her actual dad. Stories We Tell is a competent assemblage made with likable people which many reviewers have heralded as original and brave. I found it to be about the most self-serving, ego stroking piece of diatribe I'd ever seen committed to the screen. Polley is like that obnoxious relative you only see once a decade or so at reunions who still can't but help spamming the rest of the family come Christmastime with letters informing what her superlative family has been up to. Unfortunately (unless we had the true courage to walk out of the theater or turning off the DVD player) we don't have the option of pitching this would be update letter as soon as its contents are made apparent. Polley's sister puts it best in the film's opening moments stating, "there must be millions of families with stories like ours, I mean really who the fuck cares?"