Dear Dad

When watching Dear Dad, you have to take into account that this is part of GMAC’s Little Pictures, which are specifically by first-time film-makers.

This is a particularly personal documentary, as Robin Haig attempts to move towards and capture a reconciliation between her and her estranged father on camera.

It is certainly emotional stuff – and the fact that her dad Niall was as prepared to bare his soul for the film as his daughter was is testimony to the desire on both sides to find a solution to their differences. Niall is a deerstalker by trade and Haig also captures him at his ‘day job’ tracking and shooting a stag. Haig mixes her footage well, inserting still photos taken from happier days.

Despite the film being well shot it remains unclear what Haig is hoping to achieve by overlaying images of her dad at work with testimony about their troubled relationship. The parallels or connection just don’t seem to be there. A film just on her father’s deerstalking would have been as worthwhile as a film examining their relationship but slotting the two together doesn’t quite work.

However, she should be praised for her bravery in tackling a subject that is clearly emotionally raw.