Classic Film Review #24: The Father

Available on Netflix

I can clearly recall seeing the trailer for The Father as far back as 2021 and being instantly intrigued by its premise and visual style. Sadly, the final cut didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Adapted from a play by Florian Zeller (who is also on directorial duties), the film has a very stagy vibe that doesn’t quite translate to the screen as well as one would have hoped.

That’s not to say The Father is without its merits though. Ben Smithard’s cinematography is fantastic, as is Yorgos Lampinos’ editing. Most importantly, its lead performances are incredible, with Anthony Hopkins on stellar form as the titular patriarch. His delivery, even of the film’s more melodramatic material, is often heartbreaking, and he plays off Olivia Colman very well.

The way in which Zeller plays around with the underlying themes of perspective and time is also admirable, with many of the interactions between Hopkins and Colman folding in on themselves and returning to their starting point. This makes for an intriguing viewing experience whereby the audience is required to piece things together as the narrative unfolds, which is all the more fitting given The Father is a film about dementia.

Sadly, there is little else to grab onto here, as the film fails to scratch beneath the surface of its central characters, instead tending to rely on the shock value of its events. This means it doesn’t hit as hard on a repeat viewing, though this is arguably just as much down to the innate difficulty of effectively translating works of theatre to the silver screen.

That being said, The Father is certainly worth watching for Hopkins’ magnetic lead performance alone.