kristintremba Review of The Favorite

The Favorite (2019)

The father figure was in the wrong, but movie still inspiring

[6/10 · 13 August 2020]

The first half of the movie showed a father clearly not loving one of his sons and favoring his other son. Hence, the title "The Favorite". I found it unrealistic and disturbing that the son apologized for misperceiving his father's lack of love after watching home videos that showed his Dad being affectionate. He was surprised and said, "I was wrong about my Dad." What? We watched his dad ignore him repeatedly, while favoring the other son; his dad did not show up for his wrestling matches while he constantly attended his other son's soccer matches; his dad did not have time for this son when this son reached out and tried to connect with him ever since he was a kid. However, despite all this, the son watches old home videos of his Dad showing him affection and realizes it was all a misunderstanding and that he (the neglected son) is just "messed up." I don't think so. The father never acknowledged neglecting his son or apologized for it, even though he finally came around to standing up for his son and spending time with him - finally! The father's only excuse was that his other son was easier to have a relationship with. Wow! Really? Fathers are to initiate a relationship with their sons. A son should not have to initiate and beg to have a relationship with his father. Fortunately, his brother apologized and said, "I wasn't a good brother. I was a jerk." Amen to that. The dad should have said the same. It's sad and hurtful to see this play out in this movie script and other movies where I've seen it before. "You just perceived I didn't love you..." No, love is action. Love is words. Love is showing up. If the writer was trying to protect fatherhood or somehow make the father character symbolize God the Father, it didn't work. Thank God we don't have to beg and wait for God the Father to show us attention. God the Father is a good father. He is always there for us, and he makes it very clear through the Bible and the Holy Spirit living in us that he loves us. The essence of the Trinity is the loving relationship between the Father and his own beloved Son, Jesus. The Father and Son and Holy Spirit initiated, suffered, and sacrificed greatly through the cross to show each one of us how much we are loved, forgiven, valued, esteemed and saved. That being said, the other elements of the movie were praiseworthy and inspiring. The man who wrote the script should be commended for his acting and scriptwriting, even with my disappointment regarding the father/son depiction. Praise the Lord for his life and ministry through this film. God bless!