Search - The Father on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

Florian Zeller's 2020 film "The Father" is the most disorienting mainstream film you're likely to see, and this is entirely by design.

Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) suffers from moderate dementia. He still lives at home, but probably won't for long. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) does her best to take care of him, but even her ability to provide adequate care is reaching its limit.

Anthony is a difficult man; we never quite learn if he was as caustic in his younger years as he appears to be capable of in his old age, but we do learn he's essentially gone through three live-in caregivers who've given up on the job.

We experience Anthony's disorientation firsthand. Characters are played by multiple actors who seem to switch mid-scene, along with locations and events. We never quite know which scenes are real and which are fantasies rooted in dementia. Does Anne really have a lover in Paris who she plans on joining? Does Anthony live in his own flat, or Anne's? Does Anne really strangle her own father, or is that his paranoia? or...her fantasy?

Here's my problem with movies like this: let's assume Anthony has been experiencing symptoms of dementia for, oh, a year let's say - long enough to have torn through three in-home caregivers, so even six months minimum. There are a lot of scenes where Anthony will look at a character who has appeared in the scene and say "Who are you? Who is that?" And the other characters will react as if it's the first time he's said anything like that, and they'll over-react and say "Why, Anthony, that's Paul! Don't you know Paul??" No, he doesn't, and you'd think these characters would be used to these "lapses" before too long and not react quite so strongly to them. In fact I would think they'd develop a sort of ritual around it - yes Anthony, that's Paul, he's your so-and-so and you've known him for X number of years, and you met standing in line at CVS and started discussing hair-care products.

But I'm nitpicking, or maybe I'm just too much of a cold-hearted bastard to empathize with these characters. It's an old story told in an innovative way, and I certainly don't disagree with Hopkins winning the Best Actor Oscar that year. But I'm not sure who this movie is for - do people who've lived with a family member with dementia want to see movies about dementia? Do people who *haven't* lived with a family member with dementia want to see movies about dementia? Or maybe people just want to see an admittedly well-made movie with fine performances from acclaimed actors. That I can understand.

Grade: straight B

Walter K. (WalterKuzens) from RENO, NV
Reviewed on 11/26/2022...

Powerful performance by Anthony Hopkins, powerful subject matter. For those who might complain about the storyline being difficult to follow; that is the point. Things like Alzheimers and dementia are difficult to handle and comprehend. A sad but important film.

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K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/25/2022...

Dives into the part of life most don't want to go to. Anthony Hopkins was good at times but the plotline was all over the grid making it hard to follow.