“The Father”
Heartbreaking dementia drama starring the terrific Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins as a father with dementia.
© TOBIS Film GmbH
Anthony Hopkins rightly won the Oscar for “The Father”. The drama looks deep into the shattered world of a person suffering from dementia.
Wasn’t it still morning – and suddenly it’s evening? Wasn’t the picture in this exact spot recently? And who is this strange woman in my apartment? The film drama “The Father” puts the audience in the memory of the dementia-sick father Anthony and lets them participate directly in his confused state of health. Anthony Hopkins (83, “Hannibal”) slips into the role of the old man, who won an Oscar for his portrayal in April of this year. Oscar winner Olivia Colman (47, “The Crown”) plays on his. She plays the role of Anthony’s daughter, Anne.
Florian Zeller (42) makes an impressive directorial debut with “The Father”. The film is based on the play of the same name by Zeller and Christopher Hampton, which premiered in 2012. The star-studded drama starts in German cinemas on August 26th.
Insight into the dramatic world of a person with dementia
Anthony (Hopkins) is a widower who lives in his apartment in London and does very well on his own. At least he thinks. However, the old man suffers from dementia, which worries his daughter Anne (Colman) very much. Often she tries to attract her father to a caregiver because she no longer sees herself able to look after him. But the proud Anthony refuses again and again. One day Anne tells her father that she wants to move to Paris because of love, which is overwhelming for Anthony. Wasn’t his daughter married to Paul? And where is his watch anyway? It is difficult for people with dementia to understand connections. Space and time also seem to be in constant motion, which scares the once cheerful man, but also provokes aggression in him.
“The Father” leaves the boundaries of space, time and reality
The special thing about “The Father” is that the audience, like Anthony, lose track of events, places and times. The film plays with the loss of orientation and thus takes you into the confusing world of a person with dementia. With the help of ingenious leaps in time and spatial changes, you can immerse yourself in Anthony’s unstructured memory. People and furniture change – and then reappear later. The old man’s state of mind changes as quickly as time and space. An apology follows a tantrum. A happy moment together is followed by absolute despair. Then suddenly the Antony from earlier appears again. A happy, entertaining man.
“I am intelligent.” “I’m not crazy.” The person suffering from dementia repeats these sentences out loud over and over again like a mantra – and wants so much to believe in them. The desperation over his ignorance and confusion is clearly written on Anthony’s face. The fear of being abandoned and terrible nightmares bring tears to his eyes. With his terrific acting, Anthony Hopkins manages to build an emotional, heartbreaking closeness. Some scenes hurt – others confuse, others make you laugh for a moment.
But not only in the troubled emotional world of Anthony one gets a deep, moving impression. Olivia Colman embodies the worried, loving daughter Anne and shows her rollercoaster of emotions. Both she and her father suffer from dementia – but in very different ways.
Conclusion: “The Father” is a deserved Oscar winner
Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are convincing across the board. Above all, the well-thought-out dialogues and confusing time leaps allow the film to get by with little. The action takes place almost exclusively in an apartment. At the center of the plot is a worried, caring daughter and her demented father. The drama moves above all through the portrayal of Anthony’s shattered emotional world and his disorientation. It scares old age for both parents and children. And it shows how much children love their parents and can sacrifice themselves for them – and how much strength it takes not to lose sight of one’s own path. The drama was rightly nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay. Anthony Hopkins deservedly won his Oscar for best leading actor for “The Father”.