THE FATHER
ANTHONY HOPKINS AT HIS BEST EVER…
The movie every awards body’s been talking about.
THE FATHER 12A OUT 11 JUNE CINEMAS
Late 2020 brought us Viggo Mortensen’s Alzheimer’s drama Falling and Natalie Erika James’ dementia horror Relic. Now Florian Zeller is tackling similar territory with his gong-laden directorial debut, with one of the greatest living actors to help him out.
Is it worth another visit to such painful subject matter? Yes, and not just because Zeller actually got there first - The Father is an adap of his awardwinning 2012 stage play - but because it truly immerses viewers into what it must feel like to live with dementia.
It also boasts one of the finest performances of Anthony Hopkins’ storied career, earning him his second Best Actor Oscar. Hopkins is Anthony, an octogenarian who refuses assistance though his mind is starting to crumble. His daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), pops in regularly, but her move to Paris means a carer is needed. Anthony
scares off applicants until he takes a shine to Laura (Imogen Poots) – at least when he recognises her.
If the above sounds like a straight drama, Zeller ingeniously shoots it through the eyes of Anthony, with his flat transforming in the blink of an eye and ‘strangers’ entering his safe space. Anne is suddenly played by Olivia Williams, while both Rufus Sewell and Mark Gatiss claim to be his son-in-law. It’s discombobulating and horrifying, and Hopkins soars as a man flailing to grab at the shreds of reality, his mood undergoing quicksilver changes. Tough but rewarding viewing. Jamie Graham