Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins in “The Father”

By: Anton Massopust III

Anthony Hopkins plays a man (Anthony) who slowly begins the doubt everything. He slowly begins to lose his mind because he has dementia. 

As you watch this film, you are under the control of an unreliable narrator. You are not exactly sure where you the movie begins and where and when you think you are, whether it be Anthony’s flat, in his daughter, Anne’s (Olivia Colman) flat or where or when the scene takes place. Past, present, and future all seem to blend together. Anne tells her father that she is going to move to Paris. But in in the film, we are seeing Anne’s flat along with a young man (Mark Gatiss) who does not want Anthony there (the young man insults Antony). As things progress, a young nurse, Laura (Imogen Poots) comes into this drama who tries to help Anthony with his medication. But Anthony does not recognize her when she arrives. He thinks that she is his youngest daughter who is passed away many years ago.

Dementia plays tricks on your memory and on what is going on in front of you. You cannot tell the difference between daytime, nighttime, or any time at all. All through this movie I kept saying to myself:  what a performance this is, probably why Anthony Hopkins won the Academy Award this year for best actor in “The Father”. Hopkins gives such a strong performance; you believe everything he is really going through. We are inside Anthony’s mind because the set and cinematography keep changing throughout the course of the film; one minute we are in his old flat in London, then we see Anthony living with his daughter, and then all the sudden we see Anthony in a nursing home.

“The Father” puts into the cinema what happens when someone slowly loses their mind when going through this terrible crippling disorder. This is not exactly a fun time at the movies but it is a great performance to experience. “The Father” is a worthwhile movie to watch. Bring your tissues.