This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
It Is What It Is
Plot Overview
Anthony started with the circus when
he was young but went on to become a successful engineer. He's
“very
intelligent” and has a memory “like an elephant.” Now
at the age of 84 Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is a widower having
raised two daughters. He inhabits a London flat within walking
distance of his older one Anne (Olivia Colman) who checks up on him
regularly. Noting his mental decline she hires a helper for him
during the day when she's at work. He's gone through several. The
movie opens with her visiting him with purpose.
They had discussed the need for him
to some day move into an institution with a nurse to care for
him, but he adamantly wants to retain his independence. He's just
let go his latest helper accusing her of theft when he couldn't
find his watch—it was where he left it. Anne wants him to
think about other arrangements as, “I'm going to have to move, Dad. I'm
going to have to leave London. I've met someone. He's in
Paris.” As author Donald Pollock writes, “Being
loyal to any old mother or father was fine up to a point …
no matter how crazy or senile they had become, but what about their
own selves? When did they get to start living?” (3) Anne
leaves as Anthony is channel surfing the telly in the other room.
Instead of TV screens we
see unfettered by linear time the screens of his imagination:
of various small potatoes options. He can imagine better helpers
than he's had. There's staying in his flat or moving into Anne's,
with or without any new husband, and all the permutations.
His favored,
younger daughter Lucy (Imogen Poots) is laid up in hospital after
her accident and not able to help. He imagines into being: her Lucy
look-alike Laura (Imogen Poots) who is efficient—important
for an engineer's helper—but is challenged (“he has his
ways”) by his sense of humor from his circus days.
Lucy liked tap-dancing, and Anthony gives her
doppelgänger a demo of his imaginary skill at it. For the
movie audience, the film veritably tap-dances away among various
scenarios. Methodical engineers are infamous for their
order-chauvinism in the home, but here the disorder his
flatmate(s) must work through is also that of his own mind.
His presence increases the housework for Anne, makes for her
an extra trip to the butcher, and the need to ferry him to the
doctor. When there's her man in the house, there can't be two alpha
males, and Anthony disrupts the husband's ability to unwind with a
newspaper after work. All in all, he might be better off in an
institution after all, with a nurse & staff whose job it is to
take care of him.
Ideology
There are developing
conflicts à la, (Prov. 30:33)
“Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the
wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath
bringeth forth strife.” The idea in the proverb is that a state of peace and
conciliation can change to one of war just as a liquid (milk) can
change to solid (butter) through constant agitation (churning.) Or
hit a critical area (nose) and it bleeds. This first principle is
illustrated in the movie when in making a souflé Anne beats
some egg whites until they change consistency. The second when a
dropped cup shatters and she has to dispose of it in the trash.
Anne's father Anthony and her husband Paul get along well at first; they are cordial. But after a time the old geezer gets under the younger man's skin resulting in elder abuse. When dutiful Anne comes home from the grocer, and Anthony doesn't even recognize her, she loses it and is like to snuff him.
Production Values
“” (2020) was directed by Frenchman Florian Zeller who co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Hampton, who translated the original play into English. “The Father” was based on Zeller's stage play “Le Père.” It stars Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman and Mark Gatiss. English actors are well conversant in their craft, and the ones here bear that out. They were great.
MPA rated it PG–13 for some strong language, and
thematic material. It resembles a play for its limited settings but
doesn't suffer for it. Picture a playwright drafting one about
mental decline, trying various ideas until he gets it right. The
runner picks up the reject pile by mistake and distributes its
scenes piecemeal to multiple directors who don't talk to each
other. The same actors under contract are assigned different roles
by different directors. The product is about what you'd see here.
No cinemagraphic device was used to differentiate between
real world and imaginary until the very end when a stationary shot
of misty trees is brought into clear focus to ground us back in
reality. I'd worked enough years as an engineer that I can spot
what's really going on and pass it along. I've also done my share
of dancing. Runtime is 1 hour 37 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
The doctor's name is Sarai the original name of Sarah the wife of Abraham in the Bible. The husband's name is Paul same as a famous apostle who started out as Saul. Anne & Anthony are both names of Christian heritage, but Lucy is problematic. That's reaching, I know, but British society is very secular these days.
This movie is made for people who like avant-garde plays, but it might drive anyone else crazy.
Movie Ratings
Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Special effects: Well, at least you can't see the strings. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: A few suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture citation was from the Authorized King James Version. Pub. 1611. Rev. 1769. Software.
Pollock, Donald Ray. The Heavenly Table. Copyright © 2016 by Donald Ray Pollock. New York: Doubleday, 2016. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org