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'The Father:' Robin's Movie Review

The movie poster for the movie, The Father.

KUNR Entertainment Reviewer Robin Holabird says the movie The Father, available in Reno theaters this weekend, showcases magnetic performances from two great performers.

In the world of “silver linings,” one positive trait about Alzheimer’s disease comes with the multifaceted acting opportunities it offers performers. This week’s release of The Father lets Anthony Hopkins join the likes of Julianne Moore, Julie Christie, and Judy Dench. In different movies, they all have taken a dynamic turn leading to Oscar attention as someone facing a cruel loss of memory.

That absence creates a form of living dead, not zombies, but people who no longer feel ties to all the kinds of past experiences that brighten life. Or, as in The Father, memories show up, but in the wrong place. So it seems to Hopkins, who portrays the movie’s main character Anthony, an 80-year-old who goes in and out of current reality. His confusion reveals itself in a script that unfolds with unexpected changes. Faces and places switch — exactly as they would for Anthony.

Writer/Director Florian Zeller allows viewers to share the initial misunderstandings. He then cleverly links scenes in a manner that clarifies [the] action. Though of course, part of dementia’s tragedy comes because nothing ever qualifies as truly clear. No one likes to wallow in pain, so Zeller gets around this by working with magnetic performers who generate empathy and concern. Hopkins leads the way as the title character, supported by The Crown’s Olivia Coleman as a daughter who operates with no playbook about providing the best possible care. Watching two great performers together provides The Father’s highpoint.

A different take on the father-daughter Alzheimer connection comes in an intriguing documentary presented by Netflix. With Dick Johnson is Dead, Cinematographer Kristen Johnson turns into director as she deals with her father’s eventual slide into full-scale dementia. Though neither father nor daughter likes the diagnosis, they treat it with defiant humor, staging and filming ways of dying that look more dramatic than lying in bed as an invalid. Surreal and bizarre, yes. But, ultimately a declaration of love and hope.

Robin Holabird is KUNR's entertainment reviewer, author, and former film commissioner for the Nevada Film Office.

Robin Holabird reviews movies for KUNR, and her reviews have aired for more than 30 years. During that time, she has had a high profile in the Nevada film community.
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