MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Aging is something none of us can run away from. The moment we are born, we begin to age, and that process continues until (hopefully) we get very old and die. In some cases, however, even though their bodies may age continuously, their minds begin to leave those bodies behind earlier. Diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia involve memory loss and these often lead to great difficulties for both the person suffering from these symptoms as well as the loved ones around them. First-time director Florian Zeller presents a powerful story about a family dealing with this delicate situation in The Father.
Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is a senior citizen living in a flat in London while suffering from dementia. He’s become more belligerent as the dementia has progressed, forgetting things around the flat while also treating caregivers with contempt. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) is at her wits end in trying to figure out how to find a caregiver who will have the patience to deal with Anthony even as she plans to leave London and move to Paris.
The following day, Anthony finds an unknown man (Mark Gatiss) in the flat, leaving Anthony confused. The man says Anthony has been living with him and Anne in the flat but when Anne returns, it’s another woman who appears (Olivia Williams). Baffled by what he sees before him, Anthony is told that a new caregiver is on her way to meet them named Laura (Imogen Poots). Anthony charms Laura and claims he doesn’t need someone to take care of him.
The original “Anne” appears later and takes Anthony to a doctor who inquires about his memory. Anthony claims not to have any memory problems and proceeds to tell Laura that he was very proud of his daughter Lucy who was a painter. When Laura sympathizes with Anthony over Lucy’s accident, he says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, befuddling Laura.
Anthony then sees Anne’s boyfriend Paul (Rufus Sewell), again causing Anthony confusion because he only knows Anne was married to James. Anne and Paul get into an argument over Anthony’s situation and how Anne has sacrificed so much just for her to take care of her father. As the walls seem to come closing in on Anthony, his confusion, memory loss, and paranoia begin to increase and he feels more and more helpless.
Based on Zeller’s own 2012 play Le Pere, The Father presents a unique and heartbreaking story about how the elderly become powerless when their minds begin to fail them. One of life’s great ironies is that babies are taken care of by their parents yet as they both get older, the roles are eventually reversed. Anne feels a sense of responsibility to take care of Anthony but also needs to address her own happiness hence her need to ensure that her father is taken care of when she leaves London with her boyfriend.
Hopkins plays the confused yet defiant father who still wants to defy what is being presented before him: that his once great mental faculties have begun to desert him. Zeller tells this tale by having time seemingly jump forward and backward for no reason, and especially heightens the chaos in Anthony’s mind when both Anne and Paul are shown as portrayed by different actors. Sicknesses associated with old age supposedly cause fogginess in a person’s memory where once things were crystal clear and the way Zeller showcases that in this film is both revelatory and heartbreaking.
Aspects of Anthony’s daily routine, including where he hides his watch, how he opens the day with his daughter, and how he interacts with Laura all seem to merge together or repeat, leaving the elderly gentleman wondering what time of day it is, has this happened before, and even whose flat he is staying in.
In a film career that spans over five decades, Hopkins has played all kinds of roles, perhaps none more famous than for his Oscar-winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. As surprising as it may sound, Hopkins won that award 30 years ago and it took this long to once again win Best Actor at the 93rd Academy Awards, this time in a very different role. Whereas “Hannibal the Cannibal” was a brilliant psychiatrist-turned serial killer, his portrayal of the title character here is a very vulnerable, defensive, and obstinate man who refuses to acknowledge that he is losing his mind.
By the end of the film, however, he is almost like a baby once more, calling out his mother and needing supervision. Now 83, it’s a testament to Hopkins’ brilliance that he can still come up with a performance like this, and the performances of fellow Oscar-winner Colman, Sewell, Poots, Williams, and Gatiss only elevate Hopkins even more.
