Stories We Tell

Sometimes a film can teach you something about yourself, about love, about family, and about being human.

Sarah Polley’s documentary Stories We Tell is the story of her mother, Diane Polley, an actress who died in 1990 when Sarah was 11. But Stories We Tell is not just a documentary about her mother; it’s a story about family, about secrets, and most importantly it’s about belonging.

Diane Polley was a vivacious woman – the life and soul of the party, adored by all that knew her. Stories We Tell, told through interviews with Sarah Polley’s father Michael, her four siblings and those dearest to her mother, becomes more and more a story about them as a family as well as a record of the mother, wife and friend that they all lost. As secrets begin to emerge about an extramarital affair and fragments of Diane’s life start to unfold – revealing unexpected truths, Sarah Polley’s own story becomes more and more neatly woven into the tale.

I’ve admired Sarah Polley as an actress in Go, The Secret Life of Words, and My Life Without Me and remembered, as a kid, watching her in the TV series The Road To Avonlea. Then in 2006 came her bold step into the world of filmmaking with Away From Her – adapted from Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over The Mountain, about a couple whose marriage is affected by Alzheimer's disease. This was followed by Take This Waltz which examines the relationship one Toronto woman has with her husband of five years and the growing attraction she has towards her neighbour.

Diane’s life is told by each of her children, husband, friends and former lovers. Sarah Polley doesn’t shy away from nor dictate what is said or revealed about her mother as each layer and nuance dismantles the myth of who her mother was.

Stories We Tell moves from family videos to re-enactments to interviews and back again in a seamlessly fluid way. You wouldn’t even guess that her mother Diane is played by Rebecca Jenkins, an actress. The ‘archival’ Super-8 recreations juxtaposed with the home movies that Diane’s husband Michael had made in the 1970s are used to great effect by Polley.

Half-way through there’s a surprise punch in the narrative that really changed my perception of where Polley was taking me, and in that moment I realised that nothing is as it seems.

Polley’s siblings are at the heart and soul of Stories We Tell, with her elder brother John, delightfully funny; and brother Mark, conveying emotions of raw honestly in front of his sister’s camera –in a particular scene he breaks down at the memory of what his mother must have been through when separated from his elder brother and sister; the sisters, are both frank and teasing. Watching them, I wanted to be one of them –the siblings, all five, sparks of light and laughter and togetherness.

Sometimes I found myself wanting to see and hear more from Polley herself, but realise too that her decision to step away from centre stage is a creative and bold move, and perhaps the most effective thing about the film is her mystery and ghost-like fluidity behind the lens.

Stories We Tell belongs not just to Polley, but to her entire family. In the memories and friendships that Diane’s friends and family share, are the stories that make up who she was and who they all are.

Sometimes, there’s a rare thing that happens when you’re watching a film; you come away believing in something more than yourself.

#storieswetell #film #sarahpolley #documentary #review