Directed by:
Florian ZellerCinematography:
Ben SmithardComposer:
Ludovico EinaudiCast:
Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Olivia Williams, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots, Mark Gatiss, Ayesha Dharker, Roman ZellerVOD (3)
Plots(1)
In an Academy Award® winning performance, Anthony Hopkins plays the eponymous role of a mischievous and highly independent man who, as he ages, refuses all assistance from his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). Yet such help has become essential following Anne's decision to move to Paris with her partner. As Anne's father tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (12)
An incredibly fresh cinematic probe into the issue of old age and the slow decline of both the physical and primarily the psychological that is uniquely turned around and dissected in detail from the perspective of the patient, not the people around them, so we don’t get any corny tearful scenes or any other similar mining of emotions. Zeller goes about it in a sophisticated, at times almost detective-like manner, and the phenomenal performance of Anthony Hopkins doesn't give the viewer a chance to breathe. Within the genre, an unusual atypical film that is worth seeing, although it is not an easy watch.
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Translating Alzheimer's woes into cinematic language creates a postmodern horror film along the lines of Lynch or Wheatley. I even think it happened unintentionally, which is the scariest thing about it. We're going to hear a lot about acting performances with this film, and why not when Hopkins shoulders such an agonizing role at 83? Still, I'm most impressed by the truth presented about how old age simply can't have a happy ending.
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In a word, suggestive. Suggestive in two ways, and it doesn't just get under the skin, but deep into each of your bones, and not just the big ones. For empathic reasons, a "must see" educational film, as the chances of this happening to you (either directly or within your family) are not small, but it’s also a great cinema experience. As much as it doesn't hide the intimate drama roots, the memento-like view of old age dementia "from the other side" is presented in a purely cinematic manner, with the editing in particular excelling in a way rarely seen. This is also true for all the cast, with Hopkins's performance of a lifetime leading the way. On paper, from an "intimate Oscar-winning film about a daughter's relationship with her demented father at the end of her life" one would expect a bittersweet sentimental film that plays on tear-jerking strings, not a frighteningly intense existential horror.
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The exact opposite of what I expected from a screening of "an Oscar-winning film about a man with dementia". No obligatory ticking off of touching or disturbing points of the classic storyline, but rather an unpleasant, visually very modest, yet suffocatingly tight one-man show by Anthony Hopkins, without exaggeration the best performance of his career. The precisely cast supporting roles do not diminish his dominance; on the contrary, they help him shine even brighter. I can't give the highest rating purely for subjective reasons, because when I imagine that this awaits me with my own parent at some point, I have a little trouble even taking a breath.
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In response to the question “are you afraid of death?”, someone once told me “no, I'm afraid of dying”. This film reminded me of that. Brilliantly written and with a fantastic performance by Hopkins, The Father is a mosaic of the decay of human memory and the loss of awareness of place, time and self. Set in a few rooms with a handful of actors, this is distressing and sad film, as if it had been written by a man who went through it himself and came back. Why watch such a film? To remind ourselves of how good we have it.
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