Adapted from poet Blake Morrison's best-selling memoir by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed for the screen by Anand Tucker, And When Did You Last See Your Father? explores -- like its source material -- the complex, manifold emotional layers of a father-and-son relationship as it shifts and evolves over the passing decades. At the film's center is Blake Morrison himself, who for as long as he can remember has lived in the overarching shadow of his physician father, Arthur (Jim Broadbent)
-- falling prey to feelings of embarrassment from the old man, as well as occasional awe. In the 1950s, when Blake (Bradley Johnson) was a child, the boy watched as Arthur partook in socially uncouth behavior such as wheedling his way into clubs to which he didn't belong, and carrying on an extramarital affair with the full knowledge of his wife, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). As the years passed, teenage Blake's (Matthew Beard) discomfort around his father hardened into resentment -- particularly when the adolescent boy expressed interest in a girl, Rachel (Carey Mulligan), who clearly preferred his father; compounding the situation, Blake then had to suffer through Arthur's decision to publicly humiliate his son in front of everyone. The central dynamic has changed for the two, however, by the late '80s, when Blake -- now married to Kathy (Gina McKee) and freshly established as a successful novelist and poet -- learns that Arthur has contracted terminal cancer. Now, the junior Morrison takes a headfirst plunge into the memories and recollections of his youth -- and grapples with the dynamic of his relationship with Arthur for the first time in his life as he comes face to face with the need to provide loving care for the old man. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
It's hard to come to terms with seeing your parents as they are as human beings instead of parents. Then having to deal with losing one of them forever at the same time. Well acted...
A very moving film. Its well acted (Broadbent in particular), beautifully directed and well scripted. Its only real major downfall, is its structure and editing. Its full of unnecessary scenes and it does milk it a bit. I also had nightmares after about Colin Firth abusing himself in the bath! That said, the scene at
the end where father and son embrace was an amazing piece of cinema and worth seeing the film for alone! It just could and should have been a lot better (I did really like it though)
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