We won't deny that "Our Father" was one unsettling and upsetting documentary. But we beg the question, was it disturbing because of its topic or because it was well-made and well-crafted or both? In this case, we think it's the former. "Our Father" was lacking and rushed. It was gripping just because Donald Cline was a sick person at his core to begin with.
When a woman takes a DNA test and finds out that she has several half-siblings reported, she investigates and find out that the fertility doctor that her parents went to lied and did an immoral scheme of using his own sperm to impregnate his patients without their knowledge or consent. Being one of the popular fertility doctors, the real count of half-siblings is still unknown and growing each day. Why did Donald Cline do this and how did it affect the lives of the parents and children involved?
We were intrigue to find out that Blumhouse Productions was making "Our Father". We thought, "Oh damn, this might be interesting if they could pull off a terrifying documentary." Unfortunately, there's nothing different from "Our Father" from your run-of-the-mill Netflix true crime documentary. This was as basic and as generic as it could be. If we could describe it, it gave the bare minimum to be watchable but nothing much else. Our biggest frustration was its content or the lack thereof. The film focuses on a handful of victims - the children that Donald Cline conceived in secret and the parents that he duped. In reality, only Jacoba Ballard had significant screen time from most of these victims. We wished it had more content on how Cline's crime uprooted their lives or how they banded together to support each other during their investigation or whenever a new half-sibling popped up. This is also the same case with Cline himself. The documentary skims the surface on finding more information on why he did what he did. But there's this sense that more could have been done, more could have been given on both fronts. Overall, "Our Father" is a good place to be intrigue with the Donald Cline case but you'll most likely find yourself doing your own research once the credits roll.
Rating: 2 reels
Why you should watch it:
- at its best moments, this was really upsetting and disturbing
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- it lacked content and felt like it was giving just the bare minimum
Our Father Documentary Review: Upsetting topic and upsetting execution by Netflix
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