sensitive portrayal of that most difficult of relationships, father-son
Added 11/15/2009
Having recently lost my father, I hoped that this film would help me to look into our relationship, to grieve, to let my feelings come to the fore in private, for myself beyond the (very helpful) rituals we have of letting go. Although the film relationship was of course very different from the one I had with my father, it brilliantly addresses the universal issues between fathers and sons: there are so many memories - of fun, perceived slights, love, and anger - that swirl in the mind for the rest of the son's life. The son, Blake, has questions he wants to resolve, yet they can't really talk about them, even as his father lies on his deathbed. Blake struggles with disappointment in his charming and manipulative father, whose flaws and strengths, whose caring and occasional carelessness, remain present in his imagination every single day, with the specificity of recall you would expect of a poet. It is so primal in love, so raw in striving and competition, as the son takes his own path and the father is left behind yet still living within him.
The father's last days are also portrayed with painful intimacy. Unless one has experienced it, it is hard to comprehend what it is like to watch a parent slip away as the body fails, yet this film portrays it with realism and empathy, with fabulously nuanced acting.
You see the father as a great spirit, as a selfish jerk, as a charmer of "other" women, as a joker indulgent of his son's desires, as the only person who can give certain things, as full of his own needs yet caring. It is funny, sad, enraging, and loving all at the same time. These emotions washed over me as I watched this film, truly a cathartic experience that reduced me at times to tears.
This is a mature film, a masterpiece that approaches the complexity of life. Blake too is a flawed character, though his life is more or less on track. THe film ends with a wonderfully ambiguous optimism, summing up the exasperation and love all at the same moment. The mother is also subtly present, though not at the center of the story. In my view, the balance was right.
Warmly recommended. But do not expect a comedy - it is painful and uplifting realism at its best.
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When did you last see a bad movie?
Added 7/5/2009
My wife and I rented this movie because we like Colin Firth's comedy. Well, not only is this no comedy, but it's actually pointlessly depressing. The film focuses on the life of a son who is affected and overpowered by his father's personality and extramarital affairs. He never had the opportunity to confront his father about their relationship, creating an unresolved tension in his life. This is a common issue in real life relationships today, yet there are actually not a whole lot of movies about father-son relationships. However, the characters in "When Did You Last See Your Father?" are pretty shallow and rote.
On top of all of that, the British accents were very difficult to understand, and there is no option for English-language subtitles. As Churchill noted, the Americans and Brits are two people divided by a common language.
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Worth seeing for Broadbent
Added 2/8/2009
Jim Broadbent is one of our greatest living actors and he is incapable of giving a bad performance. This is a difficult role for him, since the character he plays is radically flawed and not particularly likeable. The story concerns his son's attempts to reconnect with him as he approaches death. It is told in flashbacks and it is touching in moments and beautifully filmed throughout. The problem is that it lacks a clear structure, a plot arc that successfully shapes the action and effects an emotional and intellectual response. With such an arc, each scene advances the action and multiplies its impact. Here the story meanders and the emotional interplay of the characters fails to reach a satisfactory, layered conclusion. As some of the Amazon reviewers have noted, the film will not lack an audience because many would watch Colin Firth reading the phone book. I don't think one should miss any performance by Broadbent, but to see him at the absolute top of his form, see Topsy-Turvy. Firth is an actor with more range than some give him credit for; see him in the very interesting film, The Advocate.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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British drama about fatehr son relationship
Added 1/18/2009
Very touching film about complex father son relationship. When father is diagnosed with cancer, his son goes through a flashback of the events from his early adolescence that explains the strained relationship between father and son. Father had a greater than life personality, while son was more introverted and emotional. Long time ago indiscretions commited by the father seem irreconcilable to the son. His attempt to get answers is impeded by the terrible sickness that seems to take over the situation.
It is a touching story about parent child relationship. It is also a story about grief and the fact that sometimes we would rather have our parents around so we can hate them then loose them to death and life long sorrow for not being able to have them around ourselves except in our memories.
Wonderful cast of very fine British actors. Fantastic story about one very special father one would love to have around no matter what.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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I Never Sang for My Father (redux)
Added 12/17/2008
Colin Furth and Jim Broadbent are wonderful actors. This movie is painful as relations between child and parents frequently are. Question is whether the good times outweigh the bad. Blake's father was abusive. Not physically but verbally and that can be almost as bad. I think he was more forgiving of his father at the end than I would have been.
While watching this film I was reminded of a film from the seventies with Gene Hackman and Melvyn Douglas which was based on a stage play of the same name, "I Never Sang for My Father," about a son coming to care for his miserable, abusive elderly father whose wife had just died. Another heartbreaking film about sons and fathers and the responsibilities of children to their sometimes abusive parents.
Both pictures leave food for thought.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Magnificent movie
Added 11/19/2009
This is one of only two movies that I just had to watch two days in a row. Jessica Biel's character, Larita, has a captivating personality and Jessica plays it to perfection. Colin Firth was reported to say before the movie was shot, on [...], that Larita was going to steal the show. Naturally, Colin Firth and Kristen Scott Thomas played their parts marvelously but it was Larita that makes the film great. Kudos therefore to the screenwriters. My only regret was that Kristen Scott Thomas' character, Mrs. Whittaker, was not developed more and softened a bit; her bitter and irascible behavior came across as caricature. How wonderful would it have been to watch Larita and Mrs. Whittaker dueling in even more developed dialogue?
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Easy Virtue
Added 11/12/2009
Any movie with Colin Firth, is a winner for me....the additional cast members are also a helping hand to this Noel Coward adaption, the English countryside, the era, costumes, droll humor----the most Positive is the "Tango"!!!!!!!! between Colin & Jessica Biel------WOW
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loved it!
Added 11/10/2009
My husband and I loved this movie. Good one-liners and we like british humor. Jessica Biel was wonderful and refreshing. I could relate to her in the movie. I have a manipulative mother-in-law myself.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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