Synopsis

Anthony (Academy Award Winner, Anthony Hopkins) is 80, mischievous, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter, Anne (Academy Award and Golden Globe Winner, Olivia Colman), encouragingly introduces. Yet help is also becoming a necessity for Anne; she can’t make daily visits anymore and Anthony’s grip on reality is unraveling. As we experience the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? How does Anne cope as she grieves the loss of her father, while he still lives and breathes before her? The Father warmly embraces real life, through loving reflection upon the vibrant human condition; heart-breaking and uncompromisingly poignant — a movie that nestles in the truth of our own lives.

Critics Views

“Deeply sympathetic but never patronising, The Father is a gentle-handed yet powerful film that forces us through Hopkins’s extraordinary performance to have an albeit fleeting window into what living with dementia could be like.”
ABC Radio (Australia)

“Hopkins methodically strips away every quality we’ve come to expect from him—the refinement, the silver tongue, the imposing intensity he lent Lecter and Nixon and Titus—until there’s nothing left but frailty and distress. In doing so, he helps convey the full tragedy and horror of dementia: the way it can make someone almost unrecognizable to themselves and their loved ones.”
The A.V. Club

“Without resorting to exploitative, amped-up mystery or obfuscation, Zeller and co-writer Christopher Hampton have fashioned a sort of gaslight thriller in which the mind is both predator and prey.”
Film of the Week

Awards

Academy Award winner Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins became the oldest winner at 83 years old in a competitive acting category.

Academy Award nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Olivia Coleman), Best Achievement in Film Editing (Yorgos Lamprinos), Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Motion Picture of the Year

BAFTA winner for Best Screenplay, Best Film, Best Leading Actor

BAFTA nominated Outstanding British Film of the Year, Best Production Design, Best Editing

Film Rating

IMDb
 Critics: 88%  Audience 83%

Rotten Tomatoes
Critics positive review 98%   Audience Liked It 91%

 Stockbridge Audience Score: 95%

Audience Comments

I was concerned that it would be too hard a watch but it was such a perfect piece of work by all involved I am in completely in awe of it as a piece of cinema.
Superb acting but unsettling in presenting a very complex and depressing subject.
A little too opaque but I’m working on it!
Hopkins and Colman were superb. I found it a very disturbing film, and the idea of not knowing what is real and what is fiction was a great way to give one insight into dementia. It was sympathetically drawn and heart rending.
Powerful and superb performances
fantastic cast, brilliantly directed – and extremely moving (though difficult… we’ve been there with dementia one generation on…). All very un-American – hooooray!
Extremely well acted and very close to home as my father had dementia.
A textbook on dementia and relationships
Powerful and moving
Very moving and beautifully acted.
Brilliant acting
Exceptional acting
Good representation of dementia and its effects on both sufferer and family
Harrowing but very thought-provoking as to care of the elderly. Splendid cast and acting.
Amazing! Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman were superb!
Anthony Hopkins was superb, film explored a difficult subject with compassion and sensitivity with some clever storylines.
Hopkins played the lead with such skill. Brilliant.
What a stunning actor he is
Very moving and sympathetic treatment of a difficult subject. Excellent acting and script.
Tour de force by Anthony Hopkins. Heart-breaking
Stunning performance by Anthony Hopkins
Superb acting. I had to confirm my interpretation of events through a review.
A very good attempt at what dementia might look like as a sufferer
Very cleverly devised narrative making the viewer think hard about how dementia creates multiple perspectives of the past and present..
Brilliant actors and direction. Thought provoking
A challenging film – not always comfortable to watch but great acting
Very thought provoking and superb acting. I thought the film was too long. It had an important but dismal message to tell, which came over quite quickly, but then became somewhat tedious. On a serious note, it would, however, make excellent training material for care and nursing home staff, because as most know dementia is very difficult to deal with and this gave useful insights into how to, and how not to respond to the challenges dementia presents. But as a piece of relaxing entertainment, forget it! As an 84 yr old, doubly disturbing!!! I thought I saw my wife taking notes! The acting, however, was excellent.
Not a comfortable film to watch but brilliantly conceived and acted
Anthony Hopkins was excellent.
Food for thought
Bit closer to home as we’ve just put my father in a car home because of dementia
I thought that Anthony Hopkins was outstanding. Unfortunately my husband did not enjoy the film as he felt it was a bit near home!
Quite disturbing in a way. I could see myself in his position!
Beautifully acted and produced.
Thought provoking
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant – cast, script, direction – best film I have seen all year