The Father
The greatest tragedies have moments of comedy in them and director, Florian Zeller does well to spark some levity in this film adaptation of his own play, The Father. Cheeky swear words and a smile-raising tap dance routine from Anthony Hopkins do well to lift spirits at certain points throughout and they are very welcome because, without them, it would be hard not to come away from this movie completely distraught.
Hopkins plays a character bearing his own name and birthday: Anthony, a man in his late eighties who is suffering from dementia. Olivia Colman plays Anne, his daughter who bears much of the responsibility towards looking after her father. What could appear to be a simple father-daughter Oscar bait drama becomes much more after the opening ten minutes. This pre-determined judgement is dispensed with as Zeller’s true genius begins to express itself.
Narratively, the premise is very basic. Zeller, however, takes its structure and contorts it, allowing the audience to see the events unfold through Anthony’s own eyes. It’s such a shock to watch this ninety-minute movie and come out questioning the actual reality of what has happened. A day passes without Anthony even realising it, presented with a clever edit that suggests no time has actually passed. As Anthony is shocked to see a woman who isn’t his daughter claiming to be his daughter, the audience is also shocked. It puts everything into a spin and the seemingly obvious reality becomes constantly questionable.
Hopkins is extraordinary. He plays the role rather reservedly and lets the sheer confusion of what’s going on lead his performance. Anthony isn’t a stupid man, in fact, he’s quite clever, and that only adds to the way in which he handles this disease, especially as it can only get worse for him. It constantly builds up to its peak in the movie’s final harrowing scene where Hopkins is left in tears, desperately asking to see his mother. It’s a horrific experience and one that would probably be tough to watch a second time over.
Colman is good, also, but is very much playing the second fiddle. Attempts at her distress over her father not remembering her are almost brushed over, but it’s tough to try and spread the focus across two leads, especially when Anthony is our portal in. Imogen Poots as the warm, bubbly care worker, Laura and Rufus Sewell as Anne’s partner, Paul with a potential nasty streak, also leave solid impressions despite only appearing in a couple of scenes.
The Father is a brutal look at the effects of dementia, told in a superb manner structurally by Zeller and helped to greatness by Anthony Hopkins’ best performance since the iconic Hannibal Lecter.