The devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease (although never mentioned by name) on an aged ex-engineer in London. There is no conventional story in "The Father", and that's as it should be. Director Florian Zeller, who also co-adapted his 2012 play "Le Père" with Christopher Hampton, gets inside the deteriorating mind of the central character with astonishing skill (although it takes about 15 minutes to get into the movie's rhythm). Anthony Hopkins gives an incredible performance; his confused, frustrated Anthony is delusional, forgetful, obsessed with time, unable to distinguish the past from the present, and prone to nostalgic bewilderment and angry fits of befuddlement. We, too, are lost in time as people Anthony is introduced to are either figments of his imagination or are substitutes for whomever is trying to communicate with him in the present. It's a moving journey through a trap-door existence, though the operatic pieces by composer Ludovico Einaudi are a tiny bit excruciating (less so if you admire the genre) and Zeller tends to overdose on weary-eyed closeups of Olivia Colman playing Anthony's conflicted daughter. Six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Hopkins as Best Actor. *** from ****
Review of The Father
