Empathetic and devastating, “The Father” places its audience into the mind of a man struggling with dementia, and how the denial of assistance can have an emotional tear on those closest to you.

Led by two staggeringly-poignant performances from Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his own play is a masterclass in stage-to-screen transformation. In fact, although the film comes off as a play, the production design and ever-changing landscape makes the intimate setting feel like a Christopher Nolan production.

Zeller himself comes off as a low-budget Nolan through his twisting of time and identities. The only difference between the two is that Zeller’s often mind-bending approach is well justified towards the subject of his material — this subject being Hopkins’ role as our main character, Anthony. 

As a man struggling with his own reality through the deterioration of his mind, Zeller purposefully, and often masterfully, tells the story through Anthony’s eyes. Everything you witness in the film comes from the point of view of how Anthony believes he has experienced a certain situation. This can leave you feeling frustrated at times, but that’s the point. Zeller wants the audience to experience what it’s like to live a life where one’s mind is constantly erasing and changing what they’ve just seen. 

An example of this is the lingering subject of Paris in the film. The movie opens with Anthony’s daughter, Anne, telling her father that she is going to be moving to the café city with a man. To which he charmingly replies, “they don’t even speak English there.” 

This one scene becomes a main talking point throughout the film, in which Anne constantly denies ever telling her father about Paris. It’s a constant cat and mouse game of what is actually true. And because we experience the film through Anthony, nothing is ever as it seems. 

Hopkins’ and Colman’s back and forth as father and daughter truly is a sight to behold. Colman’s often reserved and patient performance makes her emotional scenes that much more powerful, and shows just how in command she is of her craft. 

Hopkins on the other hand, puts on a much more charismatic and bullheaded performance, which makes his vulnerability in a number of scenes that much more heartbreaking. For one actor having won an Oscar for portraying a cannibalistic serial killer and the other having won for being a mad queen, both show their range in the most emotional way possible. 

This film would not be what it is without Zeller at the helm. Although Hopkins and Colman elevate every scene, no scene would work without Zeller’s guidance. His writing isn’t just personable and clever, but it’s his direction that is simple, yet grand. You can tell just how close to home this story is to Zeller, and you feel it through his watchful eye. No other person could have made this film, and that’s the best compliment I can give. 

The theme of dementia in cinema can oftentimes be a cliché, but “The Father” puts a fresh, mind-bending perspective on the intimate subject.

“The Father” is available in theaters now.