Christmas with Dad

Christmas with Dad – Chris McCormack – 2008 – 12’00’’

Christmas with Dad brings us to a council estate near Bristol full of crime, drugs, unemployment & anti-social behaviour during the festive season. Here we are introduced to Aj, unemployed and barely a man himself at just the age of twenty-three he is already fathering seven children (five of which he is the step-father) & preparing for the arrival of child number eight. From obvious appearances & lifestyle audiences & general members of the public may automatically dislike Aj.  However I believe that the director is not showing Aj & his family in a negative way & his aims was something surprisingly different altogether as the documentary went on.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

It is clear from the start that the director has taken his time develop a friendly basis with the family so that they all feel comfortable in his presence. This makes the documentary feel realistic as possible and allows the audience to enter this family’s world with every event looking completely natural. The use of the hand-held camera adds to the realistic feel of the family’s situation & the visual shaky effect adds to the chaotic and claustrophobic feel making the audience feel as though they are there among the family they are observing.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

The first half of the film we are introduced to Aj & his family & his ever growing struggle to hold his role as the dominant father figure within the household. This is shown through different shots of the younger toddlers running around being mischievous not listening to his empty threats & warnings, to a very shocking confession from Aj when the eldest son tried to stab him after an argument they had. Throughout the documentary Aj is constantly and completely honest with the his views on his kids and his fathering, one example is when he is explaining how he feels as though he gives more attention and love to his biological children but tries to equal out his love to all the children. Another example also is when he is explaining how he feels as though because he is young himself he is struggling to gain respect from the older children. Even though this may come across as Aj being a bad father there are a number of scenes the director has intentionally put in the documentary of Aj showing true love and affection towards the children, making the documentary have a very warm feel about it but also making the audience sympathise & warm up to Aj.

Throughout the documentary the sound is constantly on the same level, for example when people in the family are being interviewed the background noise is not lowered so you can still hear the screams of the children at the same volume throughout the house. I believe the director did this to add the natural, realistic feel of the documentary & reflect on the constant chaos in the house. The lighting throughout is also natural coming from the lights inside the rooms & the natural lighting from outside, this also adds to the rawness of the documentary & also I feel it reflects on the family’s lack of wealth & simple standard of living.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

As the documentary nears to an end we unexpectedly discover Aj’s unfortunate troubled past of having to leave home when he was sixteen & living with an alcoholic father we then also discover uncertain worries Aj faces as he is getting older of possibly becoming blind at the age of twenty-five which happened to his father. From this I feel I got a sense of the director’s reason & aim for this documentary. This is because we understand Aj’s worries & concerns for his future; I believe the director is not showing the family in either a negative or positive way, but with an unsettling feeling of uncertainty for the whole family’s future. To add to this the Christmas jingle music at the beginning, middle & end of the documentary is not uplifting & happy as it should be, but more eerie & dull creating what I feel a constant lingering sense of dwelling & unease for this family’s unclear future.

Overall, I feel this is a very successful and insightful documentary into a world a lot of us overlook. I like it for it's gritty honesty & unflinching openness & how it changed my view of it's main focus. At first I though Aj as a stupid, irresponsible man but as the film went on I discovered Aj to be very loving & sensitive but also a very troubled & worried man.