The Father (2020)

 

Anthony Hopkins stars in The Father as Antony, a man suffering from Alzheimer’s. He is confused by many different aspects of his life. His daughter Anne (Olivia Coleman) visits him every day trying to find the best arrangements for him. Antony can be cruel especially to his doting daughter.

Antony remembers things or maybe he doesn’t as the film weaves different memories together in a way that makes it unclear what actually happened and what has been jumbled. The passage of time is unclear. Antony is convinced there is nothing wrong with him. Hopkins masterfully shows Antony’s confusion though and his attempts at playing everything off as if it’s okay. 

Florian Zeller wrote the play the film is based on as well as the adaptation. He directed the film as well and this works in his favor as every nuance is as he intended on the page. The film a faithful adaptation. It’s almost scene for scene exactly as it is in the play with minor changes of course. In the play, the set slowly becomes more and more bare, but in the film Zeller uses the film medium to put us in a labyrinth of sorts. Antony’s flat changes and there are a lot of shots of the hallways and doors and the audience never truly knows what the flat looks like. It adds to our confusion helping us understand what Antony sees.

Olivia Coleman and Anthony Hopkins are superb and I can see why Hopkins nabbed the Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role. Coleman is getting more and more recognition which is definitely deserved. You can see the pain in her eyes anytime she is berated by her father. She holds her own against Hopkins. I can’t say enough good things about her.

There are moments in which different actors play the same characters. Hopkins effortlessly shows the confusion as he tries to piece together who these people are. He switches seamlessly from cruel to charming. When he meets his new caregiver played by Imogen Poots, he charms her until he suddenly turns on her without warning. 

It is the final scene in the movie that truly shows Hopkins’ ability. He has lost everything. It breaks your heart in the worst way. This last scene killed me. We all know Hopkins is one of the greatest actors of our time, but this performance adds a whole new layer of respect for his abilities.