Documentary Review: ‘Our Father’

Review by James Lindorf

Netflix and Blumhouse partnered for the hit true-crime series “Worst Roommate Ever” in March, and now the partnership is bringing us the true-crime documentary “Our Father.” Director Lucie Jourdan’s “Our Father,” tells how Jacoba Ballard and others exposed the misdeeds of Indianapolis-based fertility specialist Donald Cline that stretch back to 1979. “Our Father” is shocking, sickening, salacious, and currently streaming on Netflix.

Decades ago, when Donald Cline’s practice was at its height of popularity, he never could have envisioned the rise in popularity of at-home DNA testing that would expose his crimes. Like 1 in 8 couples, Jacoba Ballard’s parents experienced fertility issues and would eventually conceive their only child via donor sperm. With all the associated financial and emotional stress involved, her parents decided to stop after one child, but Jacoba always dreamed of having brothers and sisters. In her early 30s, Jacoba turned to DNA testing to see if the man who donated to her parents ever had any more children. What she learned would change her life and the lives of so many more siblings than she could have ever imagined. Instead of following the agreed-upon procedures, Cline inseminated an untold number of women with his sperm instead of an anonymous donor or, worse, their partner.

This is the directorial debut for Jourdan, who spent most of her career as a producer for television and that history shows. “Our Father” feels more like a scandalous drama airing on TLC or Bravo instead of streaming on the king of true crime. There are a few choices that detract from the seriousness of the topic. Jourdan employs numerous dramatizations to try and get the viewer into the mindset of Cline’s victims, but the movie is at its best when they share their stories and grief.

As the story unfolds, the film displays a counter each time additional siblings are located, so everyone is keeping count. This serves as a source of another potentially detrimental choice because there seems to be audio of a man moaning each time the number increases. We all know what went into him providing a sample, and it should be mentioned, but it cheapens the story to make a recurring joke.

There is also a missed opportunity because the film largely ignores a victim from every family. The male partners and fathers are rarely consulted or even referenced for how the news has affected them. It is a strange choice because it mirrors the trouble of not talking about male infertility, which is at the heart of this story.

Even with the occasional poor use of judgment when it comes to tone, “Our Father” is a riveting and shocking documentary that should increase the sales of DNA tests around the country, especially in central Indiana. “Our Father” scores a 4 out of 5 for pure shock value.

Genre: Crime, Documentary
Original Language: English
Director: Lucie Jourdan
Producer: Jason Blum, Lucie Jourdan, Michael Petrella, Amanda Spain
Release Date: May 11th, 2022
Runtime: 1h 37m