Our film for discussion in May was “the Father”, the story of Anthony struggling to come to terms with his deteriorating mental health. He refuses all assistance from his daughter, Anne, as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality. It stars Anthony Hopkins as Anthony and Olivia Colman as Anne, who both deliver excellent performances. Anthony Hopkins was awarded the Academy Award for his performance and between them they were nominated and won a number of other awards.
This could not be considered an enjoyable film, but it is powerful and confronting. It depicts well the frustration of both a sufferer of dementia and a family member struggling to come to terms with the “loss” a loved family member. It can be confusing as there are scenes in current time as well as Anthony reliving versions of events from the past.
The setting is all indoors, which perhaps reflects Anthony’s mental state. While based on a stage play that would have had limited opportunities for more scenes, many films based on plays extend the cinematography to widen the settings. For this film it was appropriate to keep the setting so simple.
For Anthony, the deterioration is seen with his body language as he becomes a little more stooped, and his clothing moves from well-dressed to constantly in pyjamas. There was just a touch of humour, with Anthony constantly losing his watch, but even this was a frustration for Anne.
This is a film that shows real life for a family going through changes in an aging family member. Overall, we gave it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.
At our June class we will be discussing “Six Minutes to Midnight” (trailer below), which screened at BPACC from 20 May.
This could not be considered an enjoyable film, but it is powerful and confronting. It depicts well the frustration of both a sufferer of dementia and a family member struggling to come to terms with the “loss” a loved family member. It can be confusing as there are scenes in current time as well as Anthony reliving versions of events from the past.
The setting is all indoors, which perhaps reflects Anthony’s mental state. While based on a stage play that would have had limited opportunities for more scenes, many films based on plays extend the cinematography to widen the settings. For this film it was appropriate to keep the setting so simple.
For Anthony, the deterioration is seen with his body language as he becomes a little more stooped, and his clothing moves from well-dressed to constantly in pyjamas. There was just a touch of humour, with Anthony constantly losing his watch, but even this was a frustration for Anne.
This is a film that shows real life for a family going through changes in an aging family member. Overall, we gave it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.
At our June class we will be discussing “Six Minutes to Midnight” (trailer below), which screened at BPACC from 20 May.
The things we will watch for in viewing the film include:
Joy Shirley
- Did you enjoy the film? What in particular did you like?
- Was there anything that you did not like?
- What did you think about the cinematography?
- What did you think of the performances? Any strong performances that stand out? Any weak performances that spoilt the film?
- Overall rating out of 5.
Joy Shirley
