--- title: "The Father: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-father/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-father" critics_score: 88 critics_reviews: 22 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): what the critics said Critics' score 88 from 22 reviews: 22 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## Slant Magazine Rating ★★★★. 13 December 2020. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-florian-zeller/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 11 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-father-review-give-the-man-an-oscar-oh-they-did-dklxnwf90) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-father-film-review-dementia-anthony-hopkins-florian-zeller-oscar-b939688.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/10/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-florian-zeller) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2020. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/father-review-1273990/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-father-movie-review.html) ## Empire — Nick de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-father/) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 2020. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-father-review-sundance-1202206812/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-b1863270.html) ## The i Paper — Francesca Steele Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 June 2021. 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 the review](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 Rating B+. 18 December 2020. 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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/anthony-hopkins-delivers-the-most-heartbreaking-perform-1845909578) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 3/4/5. 9 June 2021. 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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-father) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 23 April 2021. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-father-2021) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang 25 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-02-25/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman) ## RogerEbert.com — Christy Lemire 25 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-father-movie-review-2021) ## Screen Daily 28 January 2020. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-father-sundance-review/5146593.article) ## Sight and Sound 9 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/father-2020-florian-zeller-anthony-hopkins-mental-deterioration) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane 26 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/anthony-hopkins-rules-the-screen-in-the-father) ## HeyUGuys — Adam Solomons Rating 5/5. 22 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-father-review/) ## /Film — Jason Gorber Rating 9.5/10. 24 September 2020. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/576763/the-father-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A-. 17 September 2020. 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 the review](https://collider.com/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 February 2021. 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 the review](https://deadline.com/video/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman-dementia-drama/) ## NME — Paul Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2021. 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 the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-father-review-anthony-hopkins-2917823) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 March 2021. 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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-father-film-review-anthony-hopkins-olivia-colman/) ## Eye for Film — Anne-Katrin Titze Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2021. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-father-2020-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze) ## The Skinny — Carmen Paddock Rating ★★★★. 7 June 2021. 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 the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-father-anthony-hopkins) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating B. 29 January 2020. Festival review. 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 the review](https://theplaylist.net/anthony-hopkins-father-sundance-review-20200129/) ## Paste — Andy Crump Rating 8.0. 24 February 2021. 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 the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/anthony-hopkins/the-father-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-father.md