--- title: "The Father" year: 2020 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-father" fi1m_id: "the-father" imdb_id: "tt10272386" tmdb_id: 600354 wikidata_id: "Q65066669" fi1m_score: 89 critics_score: 88 critics_reviews: 22 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:08.952455+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Father (2020) Directed by Florian Zeller · 1h 37m · MPA PG-13 · Drama ## Identity The Father - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-father - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-father - **IMDb ID:** tt10272386 - **TMDB ID:** 600354 - **Wikidata ID:** Q65066669 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10272386/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/600354, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65066669 **Fi1m score: 89** · Critics 88 from 22 reviews *In a sentence:* Anthony Hopkins makes a familiar sitting room feel like somewhere we should not have been left alone > Florian Zeller’s dementia drama is frightening and compassionate, with Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman giving painfully precise performances. A few repetitions feel overworked, but the shifting flat makes Anthony’s confusion distressingly immediate. ## Synopsis Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is an ageing man with dementia who remains convinced he can trust his own account of things. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) tries to navigate a relationship increasingly shaped by his confusion. In the flat around him, familiar details shift and conversations become difficult to place. People he ought to recognise no longer offer certainty, and his confidence gives way to suspicion. Florian Zeller’s drama follows events from Anthony’s perspective, leaving the audience to work out what is happening with much the same unreliable information he has. ## Review *The Father* asks us to follow a man who can no longer rely on his memory, without giving us a dependable version of events to keep in reserve. Florian Zeller, directing a screenplay he wrote with Christopher Hampton, makes that uncertainty frightening without treating Anthony as a curiosity. We recommend it for the acting and the way it makes an ordinary flat difficult to recognise. At 97 minutes, it is also about as much of this particular fear as we can bear at once. Anthony Hopkins gives Anthony enough pride and charm for us to understand why he resists anyone else’s account of what is happening. His anger can be ugly, and Hopkins does not soften it simply because its cause deserves compassion. What makes the performance hurt is the speed with which his authority becomes uncertain: the man insisting he knows better suddenly cannot be sure. We are allowed to find him difficult without being allowed to dismiss his fear. Olivia Colman’s Anne gives the film someone else whose distress matters, even when Anthony cannot take it in. Colman makes the effort of dealing with him visible without asking us to applaud her patience. There is love here, but also the strain of having to remain attentive to someone who may turn mean. Their scenes together hurt because neither performance reduces this relationship to a patient and a dutiful daughter. Peter Francis’s production design does much of the frightening work. Details in the flat change, and a place we thought we knew stops helping us understand what is happening. We were frightened by how little it took to make us distrust an ordinary flat. Ben Smithard’s cinematography gives those domestic surroundings enough attention for us to start examining the rooms as closely as the people. Yorgos Lamprinos’s editing makes conversations and changes of time difficult to fit into a secure sequence. A cut cannot be relied upon to take us where we expect, and we begin to share Anthony’s suspicion that something has gone wrong around him. The technique belongs as readily to psychological horror as to a family drama. Each time we try to put the events in order, Hopkins makes us attend to what the confusion is doing to Anthony. There are moments when the construction becomes too noticeable. Some repeated conversations prompt us to work out the trick, and for a while that feels like the wrong thing to be doing in the company of these people. The flat itself remains disturbing enough to justify the limited setting. Ludovico Einaudi’s music encourages sympathy for Anthony, but Hopkins has already made his fear plain enough. A drama about illness can become a long wait for an actor to make the speech that tells us how to feel. Zeller asks more of us: to keep attending to Anthony when understanding him becomes difficult. That makes this a demanding choice for anyone who has known dementia at close quarters. Leave some quiet time afterwards. *Fi1m score 89, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews for The Father are as united as they come: every one is positive. The praise clusters on Anthony Hopkins, whom most critics describe as at or near the peak of his powers, playing a proud man whose dignity comes apart in front of us. Olivia Colman’s daughter is singled out nearly as often. Critics admire Florian Zeller’s decision to tell the story from inside Anthony’s confusion, so that the flat, the furniture and the faces change without warning. Several say it plays more like a horror film than a drama. The editing and production design are credited with doing the quiet work. Where the reviews part, they do so only slightly. The spread runs from good to exceptional, with nothing mixed or negative. The one recurring reservation is that the film never quite escapes the play it came from; The Playlist finds it stage-bound, going in circles without enough cinematic tension or surprise. A few others share the thought. ## Straight answers **Is The Father worth watching?** *The Father* is worth watching for anyone who can bear a drama that makes dementia frightening rather than sentimental, and we scored it 89. Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are painfully precise, and the shifting flat puts us inside Anthony's confusion. It is a demanding choice for anyone who has known the illness at close quarters. **How long is The Father, and what is it rated?** *The Father* runs 1h 37m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film. **Where can I watch The Father in the US?** *The Father* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Father, and is it suitable for children?** *The Father* is a 12A with no real violence, but it is frightening in the way psychological horror is frightening. Familiar rooms change, conversations refuse to fit into sequence, and Anthony's anger can be ugly. Younger children will find little to hold them; teenagers and adults should know it is upsetting rather than gory. **How does The Father compare to Amour?** *The Father* and [*Amour*](https://film.one/film/amour) are both unsparing about illness inside a family, but *The Father* puts us inside the confusion of the man with dementia, while *Amour* watches a marriage under the strain of care from outside. *The Father* is the more frightening and the more inventive; *Amour* is the more restrained, sometimes oppressively so. Choose *The Father* for immediacy, *Amour* for a slower study of devotion. **What should I watch after The Father?** After *The Father*, try [*Amour*](https://film.one/film/amour) (2012, Fi1m 88): For another unsparing account of love tested by the daily work of care. Then [*Away from Her*](https://film.one/film/away-from-her) (2006, Fi1m 82): For a gentler approach to memory loss, with no easy reassurance; and [*Poetry*](https://film.one/film/poetry) (2010, Fi1m 87): For patient attention to ageing, compromised memory and difficult moral choices. ### Reviews we read (28) - **Slant Magazine** (★★★★): Zeller's adaptation yokes viewers to the man's distorted reality with frightening ease, creating a quietly terrifying drama. Hopkins delivers a subtle, well-calibrated performance at the center of the shifting perspective. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-florian-zeller/) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★★): The review hails the film as one of the great cinematic experiences of the decade, with Hopkins peerless in a crushingly sad, viscerally thrilling adaptation that deploys every formal weapon in the filmmaker's arsenal. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-father-review-give-the-man-an-oscar-oh-they-did-dklxnwf90) - **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (90/100, inferred): The film is a brilliant, thrilling portrayal that places the viewer in the eye of the dementia storm, finding humour in the chaos alongside menace and tragedy. It raises profound questions about care and will likely move audiences to tears. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-father-film-review-dementia-anthony-hopkins-florian-zeller-oscar-b939688.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Hopkins's moving, Oscar-winning performance as a man with dementia and Colman's intelligent turn as his daughter. The film is commended for its disorienting time slips, powerful theatrical effects, and portrayal of grief for someone still alive. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/10/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-florian-zeller) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it the best film about aging since Amour, praising its insightful, subtle look at dementia. Hopkins delivers a stupendous performance as the proud man in denial, marking an outstanding directorial debut for Zeller. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/father-review-1273990/) - **Vulture** (90/100, inferred): The film is a masterful and agonizing drama about dementia, terrifyingly unfolding from the unmoored perspective of cognitive decline. Hopkins deftly shows the loss of dignity while the story remains gorgeously crafted. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-father-movie-review.html) - **Empire**, Nick de Semlyen (85/100, inferred): Zeller creates gripping, audacious POV filmmaking that locks the audience inside the mind of a man with dementia, subverting narrative conventions with shifting settings and conversations. Hopkins gives a powerhouse performance full of compassion for both father and daughter. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-father/) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (85/100, inferred): The review highlights how the film makes the brutal reality of dementia recognizable through art, with strong performances from Hopkins and Colman. It emphasizes the harrowing, immersive perspective on the disease. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-father-review-sundance-1202206812/) - **The Independent** (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Hopkins' delicate and deserving Oscar-winning performance in Zeller's haunting dementia drama. Zeller's adaptation uses a deceptively simple technique to convey the claustrophobic terror of memory loss, devastating for those affected by dementia. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-b1863270.html) - **The i Paper**, Francesca Steele (85/100, inferred): The film feels like a horror drama, with Hopkins delivering a mesmerising, physical, and unflinching performance that plunges the viewer into Anthony's disorienting reality. Zeller's debut effectively distorts space and time to match the effects of dementia. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-is-mesmerising-in-this-disorienting-and-unflinching-dementia-drama-1045350) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B+): Hopkins gives a heartbreaking performance stripping away his usual sophistication to portray frailty and distress. The film excels in its immersive, disorienting approach to dementia without sentimentality. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/anthony-hopkins-delivers-the-most-heartbreaking-perform-1845909578) - **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (3/4/5): The critic finds it a haunting and credible portrait of ageing and dementia, powered by superb performances from Hopkins and Colman. They praise the radical choice to tell the story from the sufferer's perspective through clever narrative and set design. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-father) - **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The review calls it a devastating, poignant portrayal of dementia with Hopkins delivering a powerful performance. It singles out the skillful direction and editing that effectively convey the disorientation of the illness. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-father-2021) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang: The critic highlights Zeller's meticulous and mischievous direction in adapting the play, using shifting apartment details and subjective perspective to heighten the tragedy of dementia. Hopkins gives a devastating performance of psychological cunning and emotional force as Anthony, with Colman equally strong as his daughter Anne. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-02-25/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman) - **RogerEbert.com**, Christy Lemire: The critic praises the film's dazzling adaptation that places viewers inside the protagonist's dementia-affected mind through shifting realities, unreliable details, and subtle technical craft in editing and production design. Hopkins delivers one of his best performances as charismatic yet ferocious Anthony, matched by Colman's equal work as his daughter. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-father-movie-review-2021) - **Screen Daily**: The critic describes it as a deeply moving debut with exceptional performances from Hopkins and Colman, noting its pitiless depiction of dementia and how it simulates the illness through shifting perspectives and editing. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-father-sundance-review/5146593.article) - **Sight and Sound**: The critic praises the film as a painfully potent depiction of mental deterioration, highlighting Anthony Hopkins' outstanding performance as a dementia sufferer. They single out the disorienting cinematic techniques that immerse the viewer in the protagonist's confusion. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/father-2020-florian-zeller-anthony-hopkins-mental-deterioration) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane: The critic notes the film's potent impression comes largely from Hopkins at the peak of his powers portraying a man in decline, using the stage-like apartment and swapped roles to convey confusion through the character's eyes. It evokes King Lear in its themes of abandonment and identity loss, standing out among dementia dramas for its reach and loneliness. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/anthony-hopkins-rules-the-screen-in-the-father) - **HeyUGuys**, Adam Solomons (5/5): The film excels through its perspective from the unreliable narrator's viewpoint on Alzheimer's, creating a moving and original take. Mesmerising performances from Hopkins and Colman anchor the heartbreaking narrative. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-father-review/) - **/Film**, Jason Gorber (9.5/10): Hopkins gives one of his greatest performances in a masterpiece that uses cinematic techniques to convey disorientation and emotional devastation. The film is a profound, gut-wrenching meditation on mortality and diminishing faculties. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/576763/the-father-review/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A-): The critic finds the film deeply empathetic and moving in its portrayal of dementia through Hopkins' performance. It praises the thoughtful direction and careful storytelling that empathize with the protagonist's detached reality without being exploitative. [Read](https://collider.com/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): The film is a must-see chamber drama that uses mind-bending techniques to place viewers inside the protagonist's disorienting experience of dementia. Hopkins delivers a magnificent, Oscar-worthy performance as the ultimate unreliable narrator. [Read](https://deadline.com/video/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-dementia-drama/) - **NME**, Paul Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The film is a rich and dignified drama about old age and dementia, powered by a landmark performance from Anthony Hopkins. It uses subtle disorientation to convey the experience of memory loss without relying on gimmicks. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-2917823) - **The Wrap** (85/100, inferred): The film is an unsettling yet compassionate portrait of dementia that thrusts viewers into the protagonist's confused reality through subtle cinematic tricks. Hopkins gives a masterful, career-highlighting performance as the central unreliable narrator. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-father-film-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman/) - **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (80/100, inferred): Zeller fuses dream logic with markers of past trauma in a chamber piece that puts the audience in the shoes of the dementia sufferer. Strong ensemble performances, especially Hopkins oscillating between mean and vulnerable, heighten the emotional impact. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-father-2020-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) - **The Skinny**, Carmen Paddock (★★★★): Zeller’s adaptation succeeds through its focus on world-class performances and commitment to the protagonist’s fractured perception of reality. Hopkins delivers a multifaceted portrayal of dignity and vulnerability in the face of dementia. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-father-anthony-hopkins) - **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (B): Hopkins delivers a raw, emotional firestorm as a man with dementia, supported by excellent work from Colman and the ensemble. The film remains too stage-bound, going in circles without enough cinematic tension or surprise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/anthony-hopkins-father-sundance-review-20200129/) - **Paste**, Andy Crump (8.0): The review highlights Hopkins' monumental, astounding performance as the standout element dominating the drama. It notes the film's exercise in heartache and visual techniques enhancing the disorientation of dementia. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/anthony-hopkins/the-father-review) ## Details - **Director:** Florian Zeller - **Director:** Florian Zeller - **Screenplay:** Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton - **Cinematography:** Ben Smithard - **Editor:** Yorgos Lamprinos - **Music:** Ludovico Einaudi - **Production design:** Peter Francis - **Costume design:** Anna Mary Scott Robbins - **Producer:** David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, Philippe Carcassonne - **Cast:** Anthony Hopkins as Anthony; Olivia Colman as Anne; Mark Gatiss as The Man; Olivia Williams as The Woman; Imogen Poots as Laura; Rufus Sewell as Paul; Ayesha Dharker as Dr. Sarai; Roman Zeller as Boy - **Runtime:** 1h 37m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 26 February 2021 - **Genres:** Drama - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2021); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2020); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 2020) - **Budget:** $6 million - **Box office:** $21 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFnoRaLAclg ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HU, ID, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RS, SE, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - César Award for Best Foreign Film 2022: César Award for Best Foreign Film (won) - Academy Awards 2021: Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated); Best Actor (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won) - European Film Award for Best Actor 2021: European Film Award for Best Actor (won) - European Film Award for Best Director 2021: European Film Award for Best Director (nominated) - European Film Award for Best Film 2021: European Film Award for Best Film (nominated) - European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2021: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (won) ## If you liked this - *Amour* (2012), Fi1m 88: For another unsparing account of love tested by the daily work of care — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/amour.md) - *Away from Her* (2006), Fi1m 82: For a gentler approach to memory loss, with no easy reassurance — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/away-from-her.md) - *Poetry* (2010), Fi1m 87: For patient attention to ageing, compromised memory and difficult moral choices — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/poetry.md) - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: For family obligations examined closely enough that nobody gets an easy defence — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *Wild Strawberries* (1957), Fi1m 88: For another old man’s uncertain passage through memory, regret and family — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wild-strawberries.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-father