Daughters main backdrop
Daughters main poster

Daughters

Visit website

8.2/10 • 9

2024-08-091h 48m

Documentary

Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Directors
Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
Editors
Adelina Bichis

Top Billed Cast

View Credits

    Reviews1

    View Reviews
    CinemaSerf Avatar

    CinemaSerf

    Jun 20, 2024

    6/10

    A group of incarcerated fathers are promised the opportunity to have a dance with their young daughters after they undergo some sessions with a counsellor who encourages discussion between them about what the relationship with their children means to each of them. Meantime, we are introduced to the entertainingly enthusiastic Aubrey who is desperate to see her father and who serves as a conduit to other mothers and children who are - with varying degrees of wholeheartedness - involved in this project. Across the next hundred minutes or so, we follow the preparation and anticipation on both sides before the children duly arrive for their brief and emotional afternoon. What got me about this whole thing is the director's decision not to inform us as to just why these men are in jail in the first place. With sentences ranging from the short to thirty years, I quickly felt I was being lured into a feeling of sympathy for individuals about whom I knew practically nothing. As none of the men themselves seemed keen to elaborate own what crimes actually put them in jail, I began to wonder if they were just hard-luck, petty, thieves or serial rapists. Might the youngsters actually be better off without their dads? It's set amidst a prison in Washington D.C. so it does offer us an occasionally interesting look at some aspects of African American familial culture and attitudes but again, it doesn't try to put much meat on any bones from the perspective of the spouses about coping or raising the children in difficult circumstances. The aim of the scheme to reconcile (compulsorily) estranged fathers and daughters is laudable enough, but this documentary really only presents us with a rather incomplete and selective character study. It might work better as a two-part television documentary, but as a cinema piece it's a bit of an unrewarding slog.

    Media

    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster
    • Daughters poster

    Recommendations

    • Love Lies Bleeding main backdrop

      Love Lies Bleeding

      6.5

    • Oddity main backdrop

      Oddity

      6.9

    • Thelma main backdrop

      Thelma

      7.0

    • The Remarkable Life of Ibelin main backdrop

      The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

      8.3

    • There's Still Tomorrow main backdrop

      There's Still Tomorrow

      8.1

    • Fight Club main backdrop

      Fight Club

      8.4

    • Oppenheimer main backdrop

      Oppenheimer

      8.1

    • The Green Mile main backdrop

      The Green Mile

      8.5

    • Napoleon main backdrop

      Napoleon

      6.4

    • Deadpool main backdrop

      Deadpool

      7.6

    • Deadpool & Wolverine main backdrop

      Deadpool & Wolverine

      7.7

    • Avatar: The Way of Water main backdrop

      Avatar: The Way of Water

      7.6

    • Knives Out main backdrop

      Knives Out

      7.8

    • Midsommar main backdrop

      Midsommar

      7.2

    • Get Out main backdrop

      Get Out

      7.6

    • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga main backdrop

      Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

      7.5

    • Alien main backdrop

      Alien

      8.2

    • Captain America: The First Avenger main backdrop

      Captain America: The First Avenger

      7.0

    • Mad Max: Fury Road main backdrop

      Mad Max: Fury Road

      7.6

    • The Godfather main backdrop

      The Godfather

      8.7

    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    English
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
    --
    Keywords
    prisondancewoman directoramerican justice systemafrican american