Review of Stories We Tell (2012) by Zack F — 14 Nov 2013

One usually thinks of a vanity project as being a bad thing, an exercise in sheer boredom to the viewer but ultimately, a gleeful excursion for the filmmaker themselves. Sarah Polley's documentary "Stories We Tell" has all of the trappings of a dreaded vanity project, but shockingly, it works out to be a highly fascinating and stylish venture. Though Polley is quite a young filmmaker herself (this is only her third project as a director), she already could be seen as a huge asset in the indie filmmaking business.

The film, revolves not around Polley herself, but her mother Diane, a free-spirited woman whose tragic death changed the lives of her family. This supposed "plot" sounds boring, but it only does so because I'm leaving out the twists and turns that could spoil the suspense of it all. All I can say is that Polley has quite a back story, a back story that could destroy many - but in the end, it's obvious that she is a very strong person.

"Stories We Tell" definitely isn't necessarily what you'd call an archetypal documentary. The story itself is told by the family and friends of Polley through interviews, Super 8 family home videos, and visually stimulating faux footage. It's edited together suitably, never cloying like an episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive", which has familiarized the idea of actors portraying a story that could not have been filmed.

As a whole, it's very easy to respect what Polley has down here. It's risky enough to post something private on a social media website, but to make a movie entirely based on your life is daring. Instead of making it feel as though Polley is trying to say "Poor me", she is respectful of her family and friends, giving them the chance to have a voice in the entire situation.

The situation, being, the death of her mother, a fun-loving woman who truly let "fun" get in the way of her judgement. With the interviews, sometimes she can seem like a piece of work, sometimes too wild for her own good, but very often can we see what a bright spirit she was - it's easy to fall in love with the woman she was. Rather than judging her, we forgive her for her mistakes. She was simply too big of a personality to be wholly contained in an ordinary life.

"Stories We Tell" proves that, even in real life, there is enough drama to plot a soap opera. Polley's treatment is so lyrical and compelling, that it moves along like a thriller. The story she tells is simply spectacular.