The Father

Anthony Hopkins portrays in a fantastic way how life erodes, piece by piece, when dementia takes over an old man's life. Olivia Coleman, who plays his daughter, shows with greatness how painful and sad it is to see her loved father slowly disappear into the fog. The film really grabbed me and tore my heart apart.

This is a film that stays with you. Of course there's the brilliant performances but there's more. While other films have taken on old age and dementia, those films took on coping with a significant other's condition. The difference here is that the film is from the sufferer's perspective. You therefore see these events as if you yourself have dementia. And it's stunning how, when you walk away, you know you can.

This movie was shot in May 2019 just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic was recognized. The writer-director says he wrote this with Anthony Hopkins, who was 81, in mind. The movie has a number of well established actors but the story's impact depends on Hopkins and he achieves this as very few might be able to do.

Usually movies dealing with aging and dementia depict it from the points of view of all the others around, friends, family members, medical personnel. This does the opposite, it depicts it from the point of view of the afflicted person. As such I found myself totally confused after about 20 minutes but eventually understood why it had to be this way. We are seeing what Anthony (character's name) sees and experiences, the confusion as to where he is and his failure to recognize people he knows.

In many ways this is a hard movie to watch because we know people who have gone through dementia and its inevitable end, or know people who are in the early stages of it. For that reason my wife chose not to watch this movie.

For the subject matter it is a very good movie.

Wow. This story is expertly crafted that I just don't know what is real and what isn't. Amazing acting too.

Anthony refuses to accept any help from his daughter Anne, or any family members, Anthony's confusion increases, he's battling dementia.

A powerhouse performance from Anthony Hopkins, this film is outstanding in almost every avenue. It came as no surprise that Hopkins was chosen for the part, he delivers a stellar performance, you'll feel Anthony's frustrations, hurt, and now and then you'll chuckle with him.

If you know someone with, or have cared for someone that suffers with dementia, you will spot so many of the little signals and quirks here.

This film is so incredibly realised, when you see dementia sufferers on the big screen, you normally get the view point of the friend or loved one affected by it, here you see the effect from the sufferer's point of view.

There's a degree of originality about this film that sets it apart, it is without a doubt, one of the best films from the last two decades.

10/10.