Directed by: Florian Zeller
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots
The Father tells the story of a man named Anthony (Hopkins) who is either losing his grasp on reality to dementia or has already lost it. The Father is not a morose film, but one in which the players seem to change and we spend our time trying to connect who is really whom and what is real versus what is imaginary. In other words, it allows us to experience the same illness Anthony suffers from daily. The Father distracts from its terrible sadness by emphasizing the mystery which is now Anthony's life. We know only one thing for sure: He has a loving, doting daughter named Anne (Colman). Everything else is subject for debate.
Anne returns home one day to a London flat which may be hers or may be Anthony's still. She tells her father she is moving to Paris with her new boyfriend and can no longer care for him. Anthony is indignant. He is not leaving his flat!! Future incidents suggest Anne may have already left for Paris, may not leave for Paris after all, or that Anthony has already left his flat. Anne has a husband named Paul (Sewell) who understands his wife's dilemma to a point, but grows resentful of this old man whose declining health is forcing him to cancel vacations with Anne. Or does she have a husband named Paul? Or does Anne even have a husband anymore?
There is also mention of Anthony's other daughter Lucy, whom he hasn't seen in a while. Anthony wonders why Lucy hasn't been around. We suspect the reason even if Anthony doesn't. He is also introduced to his new in-home caregiver (Poots) who reminds him of Lucy and takes to her immediately. It seems Anthony has chased other caregivers away with his crankiness, but this new one might be a keeper. No points for assuming the new girl may not be real either, or may be all too real. At times, some of the characters look like someone else. We know what Anthony looks like, but everyone else may or not be who they seem.
It is a testament to writer-director Zeller that he keeps us in suspense while we trying to figure out how the pieces of this puzzle fit, if they even do. You're bound to be confused at times, but that's likely the point. Imagine how Anthony must feel. He has to live this nightmare every day. By focusing on Anthony's point of view, our sympathies are engaged. That doesn't mean we don't feel for Anne, whose life is in a holding pattern as she tends to her father the best she can. The strain on her is ever-present.
Hopkins is a treasure. His final scenes especially ring so true they bring tears to your eyes. In any other year, Hopkins would likely be a shoo-in for an Oscar for Best Actor, but this will be Chadwick Boseman's year (more on my Oscar picks in another post). Olivia Colman is Hopkins' match, sometimes sparring with him, sometimes trying in vain to reach him, and we feel what she must be feeling having to watch her father slip away before her eyes. The Father takes on a subject we all must eventually face and shakes it up with some sleight-of-hand storytelling which takes the edge off while still hitting the point home.
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