The Father (2020)

April 7, 2021 4:38 AM

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

This film is hands down the best portrayal of dementia I've ever seen on screen. Perfect casting, beautifully constructed script, fantastic set design, deft and unobtrusive direction, and performances from all cast members that I do not think could possibly have been done better.

There is so much going on here. I'd give it a standing ovation but I'm still not done weeping.

posted by flabdablet (3 comments total)

In an FPP someone mentioned that this sounded like the most obvious "Oscar-baity" of this year's Best Picture nominees - and if you read the description, it does sound that way. But the way they stage this spares it from feeling that way - it tells the story from the father's perspective, using subtle changes in the set, looping conversations, and other things to make you unsure of what exactly is going on and when and where, and by the end you've figured out - mostly - that that's how a person with dementia feels all the time. There was still things about the film I realized I had all wrong when I read the Wikipedia review later and learned that I had grossly misjudged the span of time the story was depicting. It's remarkably well done.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 AM on April 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

My elderly mother (84) keeps telling me how confronting she found this film and I don't know what to say to her. (She lives in another state too, it's a long way between hugs.)
posted by Coaticass at 2:56 AM on April 29, 2021

Start by viewing it, if you haven't already.

It is a confronting film. That's pretty much the entire point of it, if I'm correctly interpreting various interviews I've since heard with the writer/director.
posted by flabdablet at 3:03 AM on April 29, 2021