The odd father
Tom Hardy hams it up as ageing mafia legend Al Capone whose mental instability makes him an unpredictable powder keg after his release from prison
IF you’re spending lockdown caring for a loved one with dementia, don’t expect any solace from the movies. During the past few months it has felt like every third film I’ve streamed has been about this horrible illness.
Soon-to-be-released dramas Supernova and The Father should feature heavily at this year’s award ceremonies.
And before Christmas, we had brilliant Aussie horror Relic, Netflix’s Dick Johnson Is Dead and that heart-breaking Jack Charlton documentary. Now, the condition has reached the gangster movie. Here, Tom Hardy’s Al Capone is suffering from paresis, a form of dementia brought on by syphilis.
Confused and incontinent, the 47-year-old crime lord has seen his prison sentence for tax evasion cut short on compassionate grounds.
Now he’s prowling through his sprawling estate in Florida in a bathrobe, unable to distinguish fantasy and reality, with family and flunkies terrified and the Feds watching his every move (insert your own Donald Trump gag here).
They suspect Capone hid a huge stash of cash before his arrest and are hoping he lets its location slip.
If you’re familiar with Hardy’s work, it will come as no surprise that this involves a whole lot of acting.
His Capone is a collection of grunts, roars and wild-eyed stares at his poor wife Mae (Linda Cardellini).
This will be more than enough for his legion of fans but I suspect a quieter performance would have been a far more compelling one.
In The Father, I really felt for Anthony (a restrained Anthony Hopkins) when he couldn’t recall where he’d put his favourite watch. A $10million hoard and gold-plated Tommy gun weren’t quite as relatable.
■ On Netflix now