Review of And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

Directed by Anand Tucker, (Hilary and Jackie (1998), Shopgirl (2005) and Leap Year (2010)), this is based on the 1993 memoir by author Blake Harrison, here adapted by novelist David Nicholls, (Starter for 10 and One Day), it's a good film with two powerful lead performances, and it captures the eras it's set in well too, it's about father and son bonding and the ups and downs it has.

It is 1989, and novelist Blake Harrison (Colin Firth) is tending to his father Arthur (Jim Broadbent), who is slowly dying of cancer. Blake remembers the life he has had with his father, when Blake told his father that he wanted to be a writer, Arthur never supported it, as he was a rural general practitioner in rural Yorkshire, an he was hoping Blake was going to follow him into that profession too.

Arthur has a tendency for embarrassing Blake at the worst possible opportunity, and hampering his chances with girls, both Arthur was also able to bond with Blake when the time was right, and those times were incredible.

It's a very good film, it comes across like a non-fantastical version of Big Fish (2003), but it's got a good supporting cast including Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Sarah Lancashire and Carey Mulligan.

Firth makes a good, frustrated Blake Morrison, who is simultaneously infuriated by his father and he also loves and respects him. Broadbent is brilliant, and somehow manages to steal the film from everyone else.