Dir. Jerry Rothwell, UK, 2010, 80 mins
Cast: Jeffrey Harrison, Jo Ellen Marsh, Rachelle Longest
Review by Francesca Neagle
‘Hi, I’m your sister, our father is Donor 150′. An article in the New York Times that catches a former sperm-donor’s eye and an online sibling registry brings together a very unusual extended family in Donor Unknown. It’s a warm, sometimes uncomfortable, and often wry documentary, which follows the story of a young woman meeting her father for the first time, and at least a dozen half-siblings along the way. Presenting a wealth of questions about the future of the family unit, the search for a sense of self is always at the forefront.
Twenty-year-old Jo Ellen Marsh, whose curiosity both precedes and catalyses the action, has a solid sense of family history on her mother’s side. She lives in Marshtown, which was founded by her ancestors. Her lesbian mothers broke up when she was a child. As an onscreen presence she is quietly magnetic, and there is genuine warmth and feeling when she eventually meets her father. He is an intelligent, opinionated, self-proclaimed “beach bum”, Jeffery, who lives with his dogs and his wounded pigeon in a car park by the beach. The siblings and their families often struggle to integrate the man Jo Ellen describes as “a kind-hearted man, who’s very, very eccentric”, into their own lives, and to reconcile his self-description on file at the sperm-bank with the reality.
Much of the documentary covers back-stories and the reconstruction of past events. These are challenging to bring to life, and yet the unfolding interactions never feel contrived or forced. The opening shots of the cold, metal cylinders, which form the mechanical process of artificial insemination, are juxtaposed with a casual but awe-filled reference to their contents being tiny souls. Stories, opinions, and relationships are aired, discussed, and allowed to breathe. It’s a rare examination that feels structured, but without a heavy-handed agenda.
It’s a testament to the direction that the focus on similarity of characteristics isn’t laboured, and doesn’t concentrate on just the physical. The genetic inheritance is obvious; a large forehead, bushy eyebrows, and a love of animals, to name a few traits. As a fictional screenplay, this story, which relies on old-fashioned coincidence and serendipity as well as science, would be too unbelievable. But as a family saga, and narrative of self-discovery, it is charming and thought-provoking.
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