Keswick Film Club - Reviews - The Father

In our notes for 'The Father' last week we quoted a reviewer who said "'The Father' is an immensely powerful film...! and, wow, was she right! Anthony Hopkins has always been a great actor, but this must be one of his best performances. Even more importantly, the writing and direction took the audience into the mind of someone with dementia; there are many films that show what it is like to be WITH someone suffering this awful disease, but 'The Father' made us feel what it is like to BE confused.

Anthony is an old man who has not accepted he has a problem at all. We meet him when his daughter, Anne (played magnificently by Oliver Colman...at least it was her some of the time) goes to his flat after yet another carer has resigned because he is so rude and has accused her of stealing his watch. In reality, he has hidden it and forgotten where. Anne has to find another carer, as she is moving to Paris… or is she? The clever part of this film is that we are never sure what is real and what Anthony has imagined. Is she moving, or not? Is he living in his own flat anymore, or with Anne in hers? Is Anne living with her husband, or does Anthony just imagine there is someone there? When the actors playing these parts change, we are just as confused as Anthony; who is this stranger in his flat? When we don’t even recognise Anne anymore, things are getting very scary indeed...

'The Father' deserves all the plaudits it got; see it if you can!