A watch. A painting. A chicken dinner. A snippet of conversation.
These and other everyday pieces of a life take on greater significance and heartbreaking meaning throughout the course of “The Father.” They’re at once mundane and unreliable, tactile and elusive within the ever-shifting mind of Anthony Hopkins’ character, an 80-year-old Londoner succumbing to dementia.
Writer/director Florian Zeller, adapting his prize-winning, 2012 French play of the same name with the help of the legendary Christopher Hampton (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “Atonement”), has pulled off a dazzling feat here. He puts us within the mind of the ailing Hopkins’ Anthony, allowing us to experience his confusion as if it were our own. But he also offers the perspective of the caretakers and loved ones who try to settle his volatile temper and organize his jumbled memories. We never know what’s true—or who, for that matter, as characters come and go and take on various names and identities, depending on his recognition of them. Everything is fleeting and yet each specific moment feels urgent and real.
I have been wanting to watch this movie since hearing about it, but did not want to go to the theatre to see it due to the pandemic. I found it on Amazon Prime but was not about to pay $19.95 to rent it. Last night I was determined to watch it and found that it was now $5.99.
Was I in for a surprise; I don't think I've ever seen this type of acting from Anthony Hopkins; he was brilliant. Of course, tears rolled down my face as it all brought back memories of my mother's battle with Dementia. Anthony Hopkins plays his character in a way that he manages to make the audience burst in tears at the thought that any of us could potentially become Anthony. His act feels so real and his way of changing moods from happy to sad and from angry to loving is incredible.
This is a must see, friends.
![the-father-movie-review-2021[1].jpg](https://www.seniorforums.com/data/attachments/146/146398-77948b9015ebe92b2edd9d459985ea2e.jpg "the-father-movie-review-2021[1].jpg")
These and other everyday pieces of a life take on greater significance and heartbreaking meaning throughout the course of “The Father.” They’re at once mundane and unreliable, tactile and elusive within the ever-shifting mind of Anthony Hopkins’ character, an 80-year-old Londoner succumbing to dementia.
Writer/director Florian Zeller, adapting his prize-winning, 2012 French play of the same name with the help of the legendary Christopher Hampton (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “Atonement”), has pulled off a dazzling feat here. He puts us within the mind of the ailing Hopkins’ Anthony, allowing us to experience his confusion as if it were our own. But he also offers the perspective of the caretakers and loved ones who try to settle his volatile temper and organize his jumbled memories. We never know what’s true—or who, for that matter, as characters come and go and take on various names and identities, depending on his recognition of them. Everything is fleeting and yet each specific moment feels urgent and real.
I have been wanting to watch this movie since hearing about it, but did not want to go to the theatre to see it due to the pandemic. I found it on Amazon Prime but was not about to pay $19.95 to rent it. Last night I was determined to watch it and found that it was now $5.99.
Was I in for a surprise; I don't think I've ever seen this type of acting from Anthony Hopkins; he was brilliant. Of course, tears rolled down my face as it all brought back memories of my mother's battle with Dementia. Anthony Hopkins plays his character in a way that he manages to make the audience burst in tears at the thought that any of us could potentially become Anthony. His act feels so real and his way of changing moods from happy to sad and from angry to loving is incredible.
This is a must see, friends.
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