The Father (2020 film)
The Father is a 2020 psychological drama film, directed by Florian Zeller in his directorial debut. He co-wrote the screenplay with fellow playwright Christopher Hampton on the basis of Zeller's 2012 play Le Père. A French-British co-production, the film stars Anthony Hopkins as an octogenarian Welsh man living with dementia. Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Olivia Williams also star.
The Father
- Florian Zeller
- Christopher Hampton
Le Père
by Florian Zeller
- David Parfitt
- Jean-Louis Livi
- Philippe Carcassonne
- Christophe Spadone
- Simon Friend
- UGC Distribution (France)
- Lionsgate (United Kingdom)
- Embankment Films (International)
- 27 January 2020 (Sundance)
- 26 May 2020 (France)
- 11 June 2020 (United Kingdom)
97 minutes[2]
- France
- United Kingdom
English
$6 million[3]
The Father premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2020. After its wide release was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was released in France on 26 May 2021 and in the UK on 11 June 2021. The film grossed $34 million worldwide on a $6 million budget and was acclaimed by critics, who lauded the performances of Hopkins and Colman, as well as the production values and the portrayal of dementia. At the 93rd Academy Awards, The Father received six nominations, including Best Picture; Hopkins won Best Actor and Zeller and Hampton won Best Adapted Screenplay. Since then, it has been cited as one of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century.[5][6][7]
Plot[edit]
Anne visits her father Anthony in his flat after he has driven away the latest of several caregivers. He has dementia and constantly forgets important life events and where things are around his flat, including his watch. He tells Anne he believes his caregiver stole his watch and that he will never move out of his flat. She tells Anthony she is moving to Paris to be with a man, which confuses Anthony since he does not recall any men in her life since the end of her marriage to James. Anne says that if he keeps refusing to have a caregiver, she will have to move him into a nursing home.
The next day, Anthony encounters an unknown man, Paul, in his flat. Paul says he is Anne's husband and that Anthony is living in their flat. Anne returns but appears to Anthony as a different woman. When a new caregiver, Laura, arrives for an interview, Anthony tells Laura he was a professional dancer and insists he does not need any assistance. Anthony later says Laura reminds him of his other daughter Lucy, whom he has not seen for a long time.
Anthony is taken to a doctor and rejects the idea that he has memory problems. Later, he tells Laura how proud he is of Lucy, a painter. She tells him she is sorry about Lucy's accident, but Anthony is confused as he has no recollection of the accident. Over the course of the film, it becomes clear that Anthony has really been living with Anne for years, but believes he still lives in his own flat. After Anne comes home, she and her husband – who is sometimes called Paul and sometimes James, and appears as two different men – have an argument over a holiday that had to be cancelled because of Anthony's needs, and about Anne's sacrifices for her father. Paul asks Anthony how long he plans to stay in their flat and annoy everyone; this sequence of events is repeated later, and on the second occasion Paul slaps him.
Anthony wakes up and walks out of the flat, finding himself in a hospital hallway. He remembers Lucy lying in a hospital bed with blood on her face. He then wakes up in a completely different bedroom, which is in a nursing home. His nurse arrives, having earlier appeared as both Anne and Laura, but now identifying herself as Catherine. She informs him that Anne lives in Paris and visits on occasional weekends. Another nurse named Bill also visits, identical to one of the men who earlier appeared to be Anne's husband. Anthony breaks down in tears over his inability to understand what is happening to him, as well as Anne's disappearance. He says he wants his mother and that he is "losing his leaves, the branches, the wind and the rain". Catherine comforts him and tells him she will take him out to the park later.
Production[edit]
It was announced in May 2019 that Florian Zeller was to direct a screenplay with Christopher Hampton based on his play. Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman were cast in the film. Olivia Williams, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots and Mark Gatiss joined later that month, with filming beginning on 13 May.[8] Filming locations included West London Film Studios, and Hayes, Hillingdon.[9][10]
Release[edit]
The Father had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2020.[11] Prior to this, Sony Pictures Classics and Lionsgate acquired UK and U.S. distribution rights to the film, respectively.[12][13] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2020[14] and at the AFI Fest in October 2020.[15]
In the United States, the film began a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on 26 February 2021, before being available on premium video on demand starting 26 March,[16] after originally being scheduled to be released on 18 December 2020.[17] The film was released in India on 23 April 2021 and in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2021,[18] delayed from earlier release dates of 8 January and 12 March in response to lockdowns as result of a second-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The film was released in mainland China on 18 June 2021.[20]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Father grossed $2.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $32.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $34.4 million.[1][4]
In the film's opening weekend in the United States, the film made $433,611 from 865 cinemas, finishing eighth at the box office.[21] The weekend following its six Oscar nominations, the film made $355,000 from 937 cinemas.[22] Following its two Oscar wins, the film made $147,000 from 713 cinemas, for a running total of $1.9 million.[23]
In Spain the film made $171,901 in its opening weekend from 156 cinemas, then $160,378 in its second and $54,901 in its third.[24]