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The Father Movie Review: Anthony Hopkins And Olivia Colman's Heartbreaking & Psychological Thriller Of A Film!
The Father, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, is as much a psychological thriller as a heartbreaking view of old age and dementia. The manner in which the Academy Award-winning film plays on your mind right from the first scene is something to be experienced. As you watch The Father, you figure that it's the kind of film that must have been directed by a writer. Sure enough, the brilliant portrayal has been helmed by novelist and screenwriter Florian Zeller, who has co-written The Father along with Christopher Hampton. It is based on Zeller's 2012 French play Le Père for which he won the 2014 Molière Award for Best Play.
Previously, Zeller's The Father was adapted into a French film called Floride in 2015, directed by Philippe Le Guay. The main lead was César Award-winning actor, the late Jean Rochefort, who received accolades for the film, alongside the capable actress Sandrine Kiberlain. The English version of the film had to match up to these two actors, and there could not have been a better choice than the two Academy Award-winning actors Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman.
The legendary Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Father at the 93rd Academy Awards (the Oscar Awards 2021) - his second Best Actor Oscar after The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - and Zeller and Hampton took home the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay - two wins from the six nominations the film had at the Oscars.
Story
The Father has Anthony Hopkins play Anthony, an ageing and stubborn but rather charming widower. Troubled by dementia, Anthony does not know the real from the imagined. In fact, everything is real for him and so it is for the viewer.
His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) is worried for him, as he keeps having trouble with his caregivers, rather like a child with his babysitter. She has to move to Paris with her partner, and so must take care of who will nurse her father. Anthony agrees to this reluctantly, although he doesn't stop from showing his emotions - 'You're abandoning me', he wails.
But the next day is different. As Anthony fixes breakfast for himself, he loses memory every now and then, and is aware of it but helpless. Even in small, everyday tasks, dementia takes over. There is an unknown man in the house named Paul (Mark Gatiss), who claims to be Anne's husband, but Anthony cannot recall who he is.
To make things more complicated, a woman (Olivia Williams) looking totally different from Anne (Colman) walks in as Anne into the flat, and later a different Paul (Rufus Sewell) can be seen as well. Who is who?
Then, Colman as Anne makes an appearance again, introducing a new caregiver named Laura (Imogen Poots) to her father. Anthony jumps about on seeing Laura and charms her, also thinking she resembles his other and more "favourite" daughter Lucy. Again, the old man has no idea where Lucy is or why she has not contacted him for long. The viewers think she is probably dead. Or is she?
This woman appears again, this time in hospital as Catherine. Does Anthony think of her as Lucy again? Or as Laura? Or even as his mother?
The Father oscillates with such happenings. Just like Anthony the character, the cinema viewer has no idea what is real on screen and what is a hallucination, making every minute of the film a thrilling ride - intentional or not. We don't know what will happen next and how dangerous (or not) it will be.
What happens in the end? Where will Anthony live? Will he live at all or pass into oblivion? Will he ever remember what was real? The questions remain.
Performances
What makes Zeller's The Father a piece of art is that the portrayal of old age and its unfortunate trappings is not pitiful or pitiable. You go along the ride with Anthony Hopkins, who does not miss a beat in his performance, even with the limitations of his age, being an octogenarian in real life. (No offence here but only admiration.) The acclaimed actor knows exactly what to show and what not in his confused life as a dementia patient, who is also struggling with old age and doubts whether his family will look after him or get rid of him, maybe violently.
So goes for Olivia Colman for her delicately handled performance of a not-so-favourite daughter who is in a dilemma how to take care of her very old and difficult father. Olivia Williams, Mark Gatiss, Rufus Sewell and Imogen Poots fit perfectly in the milieu.
Verdict
Hats off to Zeller, Hampton and the cast and crew for this gem of a film. Whether you are young, middle-aged or old, the theme of The Father will resonate with you and make you emotional. It shows familiar issues we have all dealt with within our families or may deal with in the future. That's what it makes you realise. Life is just as is, with no superheroes, with maybe a little miracles here and there, some joyous, happy moments but is otherwise just mundane, and even raw and brutal. Yet, The Father does not depress you or discourage you from life. Rather, it makes you more compassionate.
In fact, after having seen The Father, one is surely looking forward to Zeller's next titled The Son, starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern and Vanessa Kirby. For now, don't miss The Father on Lionsgate Play India.
Filmibeat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
