The Father charms and frightens

My father is a disturbing film and an unprecedented interaction for many people who go to the movies. By "breaking the fourth wall," a more common experience in the theater, playwright Florian Zeller, which debuts in the cinematic direction, creates a break that could confuse but thrills and enchants, mainly by the performance of Anthony Hopkins.

The story is bland but uncomfortable. It's the question of what to do with a loved father when he starts to enter the process of dementia. To stand by his side as our lives fade away or to put him in a shelter and outsource emotion and gratitude? To make matters worse, the situation is seen by the eyes of the elderly, which does not give us much reliability.

When we are introduced to Anthony (the character has the same name as the actor), we come across a powerful and refined octogenarian father. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) arrives at his apartment in London. She's worried because her father kicked out her most recent caretaker, accusing her of stealing her watch.

Anne says she will need to hire another caregiver, as she is moving to Paris to pursue a new relationship, which leaves Anthony greatly distressed. Anne goes and, as soon as he sees her crossing the street, Anthony hears a noise and discovers a strange man in the apartment (Mark Gatiss, who we will never know who he is).

After an argument, in which the man insists that Anthony is his guest, Anne returns but is no longer the middle-aged daughter we know, but another woman (Olivia Williams). She confirms to her father that she is divorced, and the man disappears. If we pay attention, we will see that it is not even the same apartment as Anthony. More production design tricks will emerge by the end of the movie.

An angrier version of Anne's husband, perhaps the real one (Rufus Sewell), imposes Anthony his most significant humiliation. But there is a sure consistency in what he says: his father-in-law is sick, and staying in the house will not do any good. In the end, Anne's father is with a person who does not know who he is. He complains that he is "losing his leaves." The watch remains on the wrist.