Our Father

This short film written and directed by Linda Palmer stars Michael Gross as, John, a formerly brutish father beset by Alzheimer's and Michael Worth as, Jared, the conflicted son reluctantly tasked to care for him. The film is a short 22 minutes as Jared struggles with his father who vacillates between infantile helplessness and abusive rage. In the conflict between father and son, secrets of the older man's past emerge and give the son a new understanding of his father's anger. The film is well paced and beautifully filmed using reflective surfaces to indicate the emotional double life of John. Except for a couple of short scenes in a closet and several flashbacks, the bulk of the film takes place in the bathroom as Jared struggles to coax his father into performing daily necessities. Frustration and anger is palpable in the film, but Palmer deftly relieves the strain with well-placed flashbacks and the patient ministrations of Danny, John's gentle grandson played by David Topp. Michael Gross's and Michael Worth's performances are riveting.

A must see short film, with Michael Gross as you have never seen him before. Well written and beautifully directed telling of a true story that will stay with you for days.

"Our Father" takes a bold and honest look at the emotional and psychological devastation left in the wake of a father's crushing dementia. It also touches on other personal and social issues, bringing into sharp focus the effects of a life spent in darkness, carefully guarding secrets from the past.

In one claustrophobic scene, writer and director Linda Palmer-Cardone takes her audience on an insightful and mesmerizing journey that most feature-length films fail to achieve. Like a car crash you just can't look away from, "Our Father" holds you tight from the first moment to the last.

Michael Gross's shattering performance as John, the father, will leave you shaken to the core. Michael Worth's touching performance as Jared brilliantly captures the roller coaster of emotions and feelings a son faces when dealing with a father locked in the grip of advancing dementia.

David Topp and Eileen Grubba (Danny and Kate) also give wrenching and touching performances as a teenage boy, mature and sensitive beyond his years, who is far better equipped to handle the situation with his grandfather than anyone else, and a wife and mother who is struggling to keep herself and her family together through an impossible ordeal.

I just finished watching Our Father and it is an incredibly moving story of compassion and caring for an all too common affliction of dementia in our society today.

Jared (Michael Worth) shows an example of compassion along with his son, Danny (David Topp), that should be the standard for family care providers dealing with such an issue.

John (Michael Gross) brought an amazingly realistic portrayal to his role as the afflicted father, and his bravery to take on such a delicate subject and powerful performance is a must-see!

Linda Palmer's direction and tightly written script explore the depths of emotion and deep-seated family issues. In addition, the flashbacks fill in the void of the long missing detail from John's fractured mind that can explain and help heal his family.

This is an excellent film that accurately portrays the difficult and heart wrenching effects of dementia/Alzheimers on a family. In an unexpected twist, it also shows the far-reaching consequences of trying to change who a person is; how it molds the human psyche and can negatively affect a person (and their future relationships) for the rest of their lives.

The camera work by DP P.J. Gaynard is imaginative and engaging and every role is thoughtfully & brilliantly acted by all of the performers.

Michael Gross is brilliant as "John". Having been a long time fan of his from his "Family Ties" days, I was pleasantly surprised to see him show such a dynamic range. No "Father of the Year" award here!

I enjoyed the contrast in relationships that "Jared" (Michael Worth) and "Danny" (David Topp) have with "John" (Gross) As in real life, it's a constant roller coaster ride of emotions and reactions. The protective firmness along with love and tenderness shown by David Topp as "Danny" is real and touching.

While she does not have a great deal of screen time, Eileen Grubba adds an extra layer of depth to this piece and also does an outstanding job of being hard and soft at the same time. She flows so effortlessly in this role, it made me wonder how much of her performance is experience-based and how much is pure acting know-how.

I was engaged from beginning to end. I hope to see this turned into a full length feature film in order to get more of the back story and fill in a lot of the blanks. The film makes us care about these characters and we'd like to see more of the road that led them to where they are today.

Two thumbs way up and kudos to all cast & crew.

This story was very touching and moving. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Short stories can pack a heartfelt punch - and this one certainly does a great job at that! There were some nice twists in this short film so I will not comment on the specifics of the story so as to allow the viewer to enjoy it firsthand.

I was impressed with the acting and the direction. I thought the filmmakers were very creative in how they visually shared the main character's back story through the course of the film. It was refreshing to see the filmmakers rely on the strength of the script and the acting to showcase a strong narrative. In addition to strong storytelling and direction, the title song was spot on emotionally and only strengthened the theme of the story. I would highly recommend this film for viewing. It recently started on the festival circuit and is doing very well. Continued success to the filmmakers!