Review of And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) by Marnie Z — 15 Aug 2009
"When Did You Last See Your Father?" is a thoughtful, yet insubstantial, movie about why we should always appreciate our parents and never take them for granted, especially before it is too late.
Case in point: Blake Morrison(Colin Firth), a poet, whose father Arthur(Jim Brodbent), a doctor, even embarrasses him as an adult, chatting up Salman Rushdie at an awards banquet(Wait a sec. Wasn't Rushdie in hiding in 1989? And that cell phone is all wrong for the year.
) and wondering aloud if his son could not have found a more practical profession. However, naming him Blake pretty much guaranteed this.(Or he could have ended up a film director or a freedom fighter, I suppose.
) Things take a serious turn when Arthur is diagnosed with cancer and given little time left, forcing Blake to recall what life was like when he was a teenager(Matthew Beard), blaming his lack of sexual activity on his father, turning the cliched father-son relationship on its head which has a tendency to be generational in popular fiction.
In fact, Blake's reseveredness bordered on downright uptightness(and accompanying literary snobbishness) conflicts mightily with Arthur's outgoing demeanor which allowed him to enjoy adventures, so he could have stories to tell at the dinner table.
At the end, I am left wondering what kind of father Blake turned out to be.
This review of And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) was written by Marnie Z on 15 Aug 2009.
And When Did You Last See Your Father? has generally received positive reviews.
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