The Father

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, which is part of a trilogy that also includes Le Fils and The Mother. A French-British co-production, the film stars Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Olivia Williams, and follows an octogenarian Welsh man living with dementia. The Father premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2020 and was released by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States on 26 February 2021, in France on 26 May 2021 by Orange Studio and UGC, and in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2021 by Lionsgate UK. The film grossed $34 million 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 its portrayal of dementia. At the 93rd Academy Awards, Hopkins won Best Actor and Zeller and Hampton won Best Adapted Screenplay; the film received six nominations in total, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Colman. At the 78th Golden Globe Awards the film received four nominations (including Best Motion Picture – Drama), and received six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Actor (Hopkins) and Best Adapted Screenplay. In addition, Hopkins and Colman were nominated for Outstanding Leading Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actress, respectively, at the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since then, it has been cited as one of the best films of the 2020s and the 21st century. Plot 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.