A review of the new film “The Father”
Many of the patients I visit in my hospital volunteering role have some form of cognitive loss and my mother had vascular dementia, so I’m not unfamiliar with the illness. Also films like “Iris” and “Still Alice” have previously addressed the issue of dementia, so this is not a new topic for the cinema. But nothing quite prepares one for “The Father”, directed by French playwright Florian Zeller and adapted from his own stage play.
This is partly because Zeller puts the viewer in the mind of the octogenarian Londoner Anthony who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and partly because of the outstanding performance in the eponymous role by Anthony Hopkins which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor (the oldest person to win this award). Seeing the world disintegrating from Anthony’s point of view is profoundly unsettling and the ending of the film is simply heartbreaking.
Like most films based on a play, the locations are limited but the dialogue is powerful. There is a strong support cast, led by Olivia Coleman as Anthony’s caring but struggling daughter Anne, and emotive music (a mix of classic opera and Ludovico Einaudi). It’s hard not to be haunted by this work for some time after viewing it.