I had the wonderful opportunity to see The Father at CIFF this year. I went in excited to see what Sir Anthony Hopkins would do with a study on dementia. As I consider Sir Anthony as arguable the best actor in film these days I had pretty high expectations. And I was not at all let down. When his character, also named Anthony, become confused or curmudgeonly you recognize some of his other great performances. But in fact I was most impressed at how warm and charming of a character Sir Anthony could also play. He was just simply spell binding when his character was his "old self". With all this being said perhaps the most remarkable performance of the film comes from Olivia Colman who plays Anthony's daughter, Anne. The patience, frustration, hurt and unwavering love depicted while Anne tries to find the best way to care for her father is truly remarkable. I'm sure there will be Oscar buzz for both of these performances and for the adapted screen play of Director Florian Zeller. Now a little SPOILER to help people better enjoy this film. The Father in a way is shot like a mystery. Time lines are repeated , characters change in the story all while the audience sits confused. You do by the end understand that this is done to represent the progression of Anthony's disease. And you as an audience get to experience the strangeness of a mind that is being let down by itself. This is presented as a kind of plot twist. But I think the film will be more enjoyable for most if you understand in advance what is going on.

See other user reviews