New Netflix Documentary With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score Leaves Viewers In Tears
Daughters, a Netflix documentary with a rare 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is a compelling portrait of male prisoners putting in the work to build relationships with their daughters while they’re behind bars. While the prisoners prepare for a father-daughter dance, their daughters are getting ready as well, counting down the days to visits and sharing their anguish. Daughters is a haunting portrayal of the collateral damage that the justice system in America causes as well as an inspiring message of hope from the darkest places.
Daughters
Daughters is directed by Angela Patton, CEO of Girls for A Change, a non-profit that focuses on advocacy and mentorship for black girls, and who organizes the father-daughter dances at the DC jail where Daughters is filmed.
While Patton is an experienced advocate with a TED talk that has more than a million views, Daughters on Netflix is her first film, and she brings a unique perspective to the project. Co-Director Natalie Rae has a wealth of experience directing music videos, but this is her first documentary project. The team brings a freshness to their work that is a departure from the standard documentary format.
Rebuilding The Father-Daughter Relationships
The DC program which is the lynchpin of Daughters is intended to encourage incarcerated fathers to build relationships with their daughters, partly through holding a Father-daughter dance at the jail we get to see in the Netflix doc. The program was inspired by the girls themselves who wanted the chance at a meaningful relationship with their incarcerated dads.
The impacts of the program have been felt beyond just allowing for visits between inmates and their daughters, fostering deeper relationships for the families involved.
Without Judgment
The central focus of the film is on the four girls who are participating in the father-daughter dance, and it doesn’t include discussions of the guilt or innocence of the inmate fathers.
Daughters forces the Netflix audience’s attention to the human experiences of both the girls and their dads, without judging the fathers. In this way, it is a profoundly personal piece that allows for a more genuine experience for viewers.
Profound Contradiction
Daughters Netflix viewers are left with a taste of the sorrow that families of incarcerated individuals must feel, knowing that they ultimately aren’t in control of the jail system, and can’t have unencumbered communication with their loved ones.
While giving the daughters a shot at experiencing a relationship with their dads feels like progress, it also feels like a let-down when the dance is over, and their regular lives have to continue without regular contact with their fathers.
There’s a sense of the contradiction these families are left with, trying their best to maintain their lives, even with long prison sentences keeping them apart.
Stream It Now
GFR SCORE
After it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Daughters was snapped up by Netflix in January. Receiving the Audience Award at the festival, the film got rave reviews from audiences who connect deeply with its subjects. Daughters is likely to cause at least a few tears, even for the most jaded viewer, partly because of its subject matters, but also because it so artfully allows the characters to tell their stories without judgment or intrusion from the filmmakers.
