THE FATHER

I’m always a bit apprehensive when an actor picks up an Oscar for playing someone with some form of disability or illness.  In this case however there’s no doubting the quality of Anthony Hopkins’ performance as someone (Anthony) with dementia.

And since Olivia Colman plays his daughter (Anne) one can watch this film knowing that the acting is going to be top notch.

Which is not to say that I was necessarily looking forward to the experience of sitting through this film.  Might it be too depressing or too predictable?

No need to worry.  Far from being predictable this film has a novel approach to portraying dementia which wasn’t immediately obvious but which meant I was never sure what was coming. 

Initially nothing seems amiss.  But soon our grip on reality is undermined by things like two actors playing the same role, or conversely an actor playing more than one role.

And then we notice that Anthony’s surroundings keep changing in subtle ways so we are as unsure as is Anthony whether we are in his flat or Anne’s home.

So we come to realise that most (all?) of what we are seeing is not objective reality but is in fact Anthony’s confused perception or memory.  In this way we get an insight into what life might be like for him as we try to impose some narrative order on what we are watching.

In the end an impressionistic effect is created of Anthony’s experience, so that what we are watching might simply be his thoughts and memories on one single day.

But even so, there is an underlying narrative arc that emerges, leading to a supremely moving ending.

All in all it’s a remarkable achievement by all concerned, notably Florian Zeller who directed and co-wrote the screenplay, adapted from his play.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can