Review of And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) by Alan W — 06 Oct 2007

Anyone who saw Tim Burtonâ??s Big Fish may find something similar in the premise: a man goes to visit his dying father whilst trying to unravel the lies of the past in order to make things right before itâ??s too late.

Only the case of Anand Tuckerâ??s new film, the story is completely true, based on the memoirs of the poet Blake Morrison and the painful relationship he had with his father Arthur, here played by Jim Broadbent in one of his best roles yet.

The filmâ??s long title pretty much sums up the internal journey Blake (his adult self played by Colin Firth) makes â?? the question isnâ??t simply a physical one, though it may be, but poses the last time he really saw his father, in the flesh, the way he was unmistakably there as a whole.

The film will go to show that there were probably few times Blake had this experience, given Arthurâ??s duplicitous nature, their scenes together fragmented in certain shots â?? it wonâ??t take long to notice how many shots are of a mirror, or a window, or mirrors of mirrors.

Broadbent gives Arthur a wonderful energy as a father that in all cases might be a lot of fun to strangers, but his light-heartedness, trickery and over-swaggering makes him a large shadow over Blake thatâ??s more than resenting and humiliating.

Through one of many flashbacks, teen Blake cringes through a family holiday where his attempts to flirt with their holiday hostess, the same age as him, are not only futile but exacerbated by Arthurâ??s own imposing stature, something of the suffocating Father Christmas about him.

But at the end of the day, Arthur isnâ??t a monster, and played fantastically by Broadbent we see him as a flawed human being who gave pleasure to same which pained others, not least his long-suffering wife (Juliet Stevenson).

While the film doesnâ??t completely achieve its highest point of catharsis, itâ??s probably because Blake never did manage to completely come to terms with his father â?? after all, real life isnâ??t made up of total revelations.

That doesnâ??t mean you wonâ??t be moved â?? and also assisted by the filmâ??s beautiful score. As a small British drama, it continues to build up the countryâ??s ever-growing stockpile of brilliant films to see.