An extremely complex narrative with many different perspectives, consistently contradicting other narrative
Does it lack a point? Does it lack a focus? What is the reason for actually making this film
While the Polley family are privileged and live an often glamorous lifestyle, the narrative itself is often mundane
Yet the narrative, and the process of creating this narrative is important and even precious to Sarah
A passion project that seems to either not cater towards a wide audience, or even cater to any audience
However, the story is highly relatable, especially to people who may have grown up ignorant of scandals within their own family
Not every element is as it seems, and frequently the film challenges the very notion of what is true
Highly subversive of the documentary genre, the film frequently breaks documentary paradigms
An exploration of marriage, polygamy, falling out of love and intense familial relationships
An enormous number of diegetic layers, often completely contradictory, creating an extremely complex narrative
The film interrogates the notion of truth itself, and makes the bold suggestion that 'truth is not real'. Therefore the audience take delight in falling in to the complex narrative, and barely understanding the story that can never be truly understood
Paradigms of the documentary genre
Breaking the fourth wall, with 'characters' acknowledging they are in a film, often talking directly in to the camera
Use of talking heads
'Real' footage of 'actual' events as it 'happened'
A narrative based on 'facts' rather than 'fiction'
A focus on clearly telegraphed opinions
Narration and/or a narrator
Dramatization: a dramatic retelling of a real event
