Lucy Block grows up in public in her father’s intimate family documentary
THE KIDS GROW UP (Doug Block, 2010)
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
Opens Friday, October 29
212-995-2570
www.thekidsgrowup.com
www.angelikafilmcenter.com
In 2006, documentarian Doug Block released 51 BIRCH STREET, a deeply personal examination of his parents’ marriage as well as his own tense relationship with his father. He has followed that up with another intimate, revealing family portrait, THE KIDS GROW UP, this time focusing on his relationship with his daughter, Lucy, as she prepares to leave their Stuyvesant Town home to go to college in California. Block has been recording as much of Lucy’s life as he can since she was a small child, continually asking her what she wants to be when she grows up and leaving the camera on even during uncomfortable moments when it’s clear she doesn’t want to be filmed. At one point, Lucy can be seen mouthing the words “Stop it” and “Turn it off” at her father, who doesn’t at first. Perhaps most telling is his obsession with one scene in which the sound didn’t work during a conversation he had with her; he admits to being haunted by what is missing. He also films his wife as she lies in bed, suffering from a debilitating depression, and talks to his father about the elder Block’s parental shortcomings as if he were discussing the weather. And it’s hard not to be taken aback when he says he has little interest in his stepson’s newborn baby as the whole family is gathered in the hospital room, the mother cradling her six-day-old infant. THE KIDS GROW UP is no mere extended home movie; Lucy is an engaging character who shines on camera, but as much as the film is about her maturation, it is also about her father’s coming to terms with his daughter’s imminent departure. Block is not ready for his baby girl to not be there day in and day out, and he’s particularly troubled when she gets a French boyfriend, Romain George, while studying overseas. Marjorie and Doug are modern parents who allow their daughter the freedom to do as she chooses, but audiences will feel Doug’s palpable jealousy and how uncomfortable he must be as he films Lucy and Romain together on a couch, Romain lovingly stroking Lucy’s inner thigh right in front of her father, who, once again, keeps the camera rolling. The plural in the title is no accident; the “kids” refer not only to children in general but specifically to Lucy and Doug, who is described by his wife as a Peter Pan-like figure who still hasn’t grown up. THE KIDS GROW UP is a compelling, brutally honest look at a man who is not ashamed of his very distinctive view of his family and himself, warts and all.