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Movies / On DVD / When Did You Last See Your Father?
When Did You Last See Your Father?

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When Did You Last See Your Father? (2008)

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Reviews Counted:91

Fresh:66

Rotten:25

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: Sensitive to a fault, Tucker's adaptation of the Morrison novel is nonetheless solidly scripted and well-acted; guard your heartstrings.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content, thematic material and brief strong language.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jun 6, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $732,392

Synopsis: Celebrated English actors Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth team up for this moving drama about a father and son. Based on Blake Morrison's autobiographical novel, WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?... Celebrated English actors Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth team up for this moving drama about a father and son. Based on Blake Morrison's autobiographical novel, WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? bounces between the 1950s and the 1980s as Blake (Firth, BRIDGET JONES' DIARY) remembers all the good and the bad moments in his relationship with his dad as the man is dying of cancer. Oscar-winner Broadbent (IRIS) is Blake's father, Arthur, who seems to charm everyone but his son. He belittles and embarrasses the boy, and Blake's anger is understandable. But as Arthur begins to fade, an adult Blake struggles with his feelings for the man. With WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? director Anand Tucker continues his tradition of creating relationship-based dramas after HILARY AND JACKIE and SHOPGIRL. But while those two films centered on the relationship of sisters or romantic entanglements, this movie focuses on the heartbreaking dynamic between father and son. Broadbent's Arthur says some cringe-inducing things to his son, not the least of which is his frequent use of the name "fathead" in reference to Blake. Between Arthur's cruelty and the pain of watching him die, WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? doesn't always make for easy watching. But Broadbent's talent makes Arthur an ultimately sympathetic character; he is a deeply flawed man who truly loves his son, though he is rarely sure of how to show that feeling. Fans of tearjerkers such as TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and BEACHES will certainly want to have a hankie nearby for this emotional film. [More]

Starring: Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee

Starring: Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Claire Skinner, Matthew Beard

Director: Anand Tucker

Director: Anand Tucker
Screenwriter: David Nicholls
Producer: Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley
Composer: Barrington Pheloung
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Nov 4, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • An accomplished writer and poet, Blake Morrison (Colin Firth) has come to his parents' home to spend a few final days with his dying father, Arthur (Academy Award® winner Jim Broadbent 2001, Best Supporting Actor, Iris), a kind-hearted but-exasperating country doctor whose oftentimes boorish behavior has led to his son's increasing estrangement. Yet as Arthur slowly slips away, memories of their past - both good and bad - forces Blake to accept the possibility that his "immortal, invincible and infallible" father is, after all, only human, in this heartfelt and moving story, adapted from the bestselling memoir by Blake Morrison.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for When Did You Last See Your Father?

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
    05/13/09
    Roger Moore
    Roger Moore
    Orlando Sentinel

    A bore of a memoir.

    Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
    11/06/08
    David Cornelius
    David Cornelius
    DVDTalk.com

    A keen and candid subjective scrutiny of parenting through the eyes of a damaged offspring, but a relentlessly grim, insular perspective that rarely ventures outside those long festering psychological wounds.

    Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
    11/01/08
    Prairie Miller
    Prairie Miller
    NewsBlaze

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    It's Broadbent's movie, and he really does go from one-foot-in-the-grave to youthful and crackling-with-charisma on a dime. It's not so much that he does it, but that it seems so effortless and non-ostentatious.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Jim Slotek
    Jim Slotek
    Jam! Movies

    The performances are marvelous, and little moments ring all too true, making Tucker’s film rewarding if not illuminating.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Marjorie Baumgarten
    Austin Chronicle

    The winning aspect of this adaptation of a best-selling autobiography is in the director's management of the points of view.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Susan Walker
    Susan Walker
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A small, intimate film with numerous flashbacks like this one is trickier than it looks, but ultimately it touches the heart and proves a worthwhile journey perfectly timed for Father’s Day.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
    10/01/08
    Pete Hammond
    Pete Hammond
    Hollywood.com

    ...a movie that would probably be better off as a poem.

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    09/09/08
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    "Father" handles things with grace, wit and a healthy dose of authenticity, staying true to author Blake Morrison's clear-eyed memoir of the same name.

    Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
    09/04/08
    Rob Thomas
    Rob Thomas
    Capital Times (Madison, WI)

    Frustratingly stagnant at times but ultimately a moving story about a dying father and the son who must come to terms with him.

    Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
    08/29/08
    Connie Ogle
    Connie Ogle
    Miami Herald

    The film puts forth the idea that the best we ever get are reflections and fragmented images of others, as if we see things entirely through prisms or distorting glass.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment 1 Comment
    08/06/08
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Firth gives one of his most stitched-up performances as the adult Blake. Maybe he overdoes it but I don't think so. His aloofness, with its awkward hesitancies and ragged bursts of feeling, means that it's all the more moving when he finally lets go.

    Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
    08/01/08
    Sandra Hall
    Sandra Hall
    Sydney Morning Herald

    Grief is difficult to portray without being morbid, and despite valiant efforts to follow in the footsteps of Big Fish, which swept us away with uplifting reminiscences and amusing anecdotes, this drama struggles to find its equilibrium.

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    07/25/08
    Louise Keller
    Louise Keller
    Urban Cinefile

    Blake Morrison's pain is invasive and all-embracing as recounted in his book and repeated in this adaptation, which is a wake and a weep for a father lost to male failures of communication.

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    07/25/08
    Andrew L. Urban
    Andrew L. Urban
    Urban Cinefile

    When Firth and Broadbent share screen time, it's very watchable. Despite their proximity in real-life ages, they're convincing as son and father.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    07/23/08
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    Everything in Water Lilies is more guarded, more complex and far more interesting than it seems.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/11/08
    Mick LaSalle
    Mick LaSalle
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    In this delicate and understated portrait of selective reminiscence by Shopgirl director Anand Tucker, the now-grown son, played by Colin Firth, returns to the scene of the crime that was his childhood.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    07/11/08
    Duane Dudek
    Duane Dudek
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    When Did You Last See Your Father? is based on a true story, but it still feels contrived.

    Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
    07/11/08
    Loey Lockerby
    Loey Lockerby
    Kansas City Star

    Though ... well-acted by Firth, Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson, the slow pacing makes it feel as if everyone is walking through a waist-deep bog of emotional reserve.

    Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
    07/10/08
    Sean Means
    Sean Means
    Salt Lake Tribune
     
     
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