Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman head the upcoming family drama “The Father” from director and co-writer Florian Zeller. It had its world premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival and the initial reviews have been strong. One quote that stood out to me came from The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy who called it “The best film about the wages of aging since AMOUR eight years ago.” As someone who adores that Haneke film, that is high praise.
Hopkins plays an elderly man struggling with early-stage dementia. He moves in with his daughter (played by Coleman) and son-in-law (Rufus Sewell) who attempt to care for him while coping with the sad reality of his condition. Imogen Poots also appears playing a young caregiver. While this subject matter has been dealt with before and will certainly hit too close to home for some, the first trailer shows astonishing humanity. And with Hopkins and Coleman leading the way you have to be optimistic.
“The Father” premieres December 18th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Keith & the Movies 
Oh, sugar, I’ve seen my future and I’ll need popcorn to get through it. Close to home? I lived it once, just hope my daughter doesn’t have to be Olivia Coleman.
I hear ya. My grandfather and my wife’s grandmother both suffered from this. It definitely stings.
Looks really good, but a little too close to home 😦
I completely understand. This will be a tough watch. But it looks so grounded in truth. I’m really looking forward to it…sort of. 😳
I saw this trailer yesterday and it does look interesting though it’s likely I’ll wait for it to arrive on Starz! next year.
I’m so excited to see it. Would love for it to show in a theater here but in my market we sometimes struggle to get these types of films. So I’ll be left hoping for a screener. Fingers crossed.
Lachy’s a father 💜
Love the cast but not sure I want to see the ageing process on film, but a maybe, when it streams.
This cast is really special. That’s what sells me most. But I understand how some may stay away from it. Not an easy subject to handle.
As much as I like this cast, I never enjoy movies that center around dementia. I didn’t like Amour, or Still Alice, or Away From Her, and I doubt I’ll seek this out unless it becomes a big Oscar contender and I have to force myself to watch it for my blog. lol
I completely respect that. These movies walk a fine line for me. It they really capture the humanity at the core of the subject matter I really respond to them. But not all do though.
I’ll watch it for sure. I love Colman and Hopkins. The music was disturbing–I wondered if it was going to change into a a horror film! Of course, dementia is horrifying.
So true. And the early reviews are throwing “Oscar-worthy” out there. That’s exciting.