The Father

March 28, 2021 at 5:24 pm | Posted in 2020 | Leave a comment
Tags: Alzheimer's, Anthony Hopkins, Drama, Movie Review, Olivia Coleman

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ½

There certainly has been no shortage of movies that deal with Alzheimer’s, like 2015’s fantastic “Still Alice.” But they all tend to tell the story in the same way: the audience experiences the disease through the eyes of the family members; we are outsiders looking in on the patient with sympathy. Here, though, director/writer Florian Heller has cleverly flipped the script. We find ourselves actually experiencing dementia through the eyes of the patient, and the experience is disconcerting. I think the less said about the conceit, the better. I will simply say that it resulted in a film that I found a bit terrifying. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose oneself to dementia, and this film brought me as close as any film has done to imagining that experience. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between father and daughter, played by Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman. Coleman is nominated for an Oscar for best actress for her second year in a row. She is, without a doubt, a stunning acting and deserving of many an Oscar; I’m just not sure it should be this one. She is really strong here, displaying her vulnerability, pain, forced cheerfulness very believably. But, the real star of this film is Hopkins, who was inexplicably not nominated. His portrayal of this proud man’s descent into dependency is heartbreaking. It really is a stunning performance and his best in years. I thought this film was wonderfully clever and innovating and also deeply touching. It will stay with me for a long time.