Director
Florian Zeller

Starring
Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Imogen Poots and Rufus Sewell

Rarely is a film so confusing yet poignantly insightful as is The Father. This feature debut from director Florian Zeller, who also wrote the play from which the film was derived as well as the screenplay itself, is a masterful examination of the relationship between father (Anthony Hopkins) and daughter (Olivia Colman) when the ageing process is well advanced and the mind is rapidly deteriorating.

The way that Zeller has brought the reality (or lack thereof) of dementia to the audience is groundbreaking and confronting. It’s a gripping but highly uncomfortable ride where your trust in what’s happening is always wavering. Anthony Hopkins is masterful as Anthony, the stubborn patriarch who is desperately trying to hold onto his independence as the world and relationships he knows become increasingly blurred. Playing opposite this titan of acting world is no easy feat, but Olivia Colman holds her own as his increasingly exhausted and desperate daughter Anne, who is trying to facilitate the transition from independence to assisted living.

The subtle nuances used by Zeller to create Anthony’s changing world are commendable. From a simple to kitchen fit-out changing scene to scene, to a door that transports us to multiple locations, the mind-bending trickery is understated but effective. This film will have you questioning your own sanity countless times and gives a clear insight into Anthony’s state of being.

Often when films are derived from plays, they still feel very much like they belong on the stage (this was very much the case earlier in the year with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), but Zeller has done an incredible job at transitioning this story from one medium to the other with flawless effect, whilst adding layers of unconventionality.

The Father is a film that really makes you think and feel deeply days and even weeks after seeing it. One that can be watched multiple times to pick up little pieces you might have missed the first time around. It will break you in ways you didn’t know a film could, and give you new levels of empathy and understanding of one of life’s cruelest diseases. Anyone who has loved and lost someone to dementia will recognise the great pain and frustration brought to life by Hopkins, and tissues will be a required accompaniment to each viewing.  If anyone thought that the 2021 Academy Awards would be light on for contenders, this one goes to show that the field really is heating up. Brilliant in every sense of the word.

The Father is in cinemas April 1^st

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