And When Did You Last See Your Father?

My last recollection of my father was the look on his face after I placed him in a nursing home in Miami, Florida. Wracked by Parkinson's disease and heart trouble, I was saddened by how far removed he was from the authoritarian and emotionally distant man I feared when I was young, yet a lifetime of resentment could not be entirely forgotten. Indeed, in our society the pressure to love our fathers no matter how awful their behavior is so strong that it often leaves children deeply conflicted. Anand Tucker's And When Did You Last See Your Father? is a film about such conflict, though it does not question the underlying bond of love. Based on the autobiography by British writer Blake Morrison with a screenplay by David Nicholls, the film's title asks the question "when" but seeks an answer that requires more than a date. It asks for the last time in your life when you really saw your father, not as an authority figure but as a complete human being, the complex individual that you may have never seen before.

The film charts the relationship between Doctor Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent) and his son Blake (Colin Firth), a writer, over a period of thirty years. As his dad lies dying of cancer, Blake is reminded of their difficult relationship over the years. Using mirrors to suggest there are many different angles with which to view life, Tucker catches events in Blake's life that remain with him and threaten to keep the two apart at a moment when they clearly need each other. Through extensive flashbacks showing Blake as a child, teenager, and adult, the film allows us to understand how events, both small and large, took on mass as the years went by. It makes clear that while Arthur was a devoted father, he was not above being overbearing, deceitful and duplicitous, especially regarding his infidelities with Aunt Beattie (Sarah Lancashire), an open secret in the household, though one that his wife (Juliet Stevenson) came to accept. Stevenson is outstanding in her role of the suffering partner who tries to make up for her husband's aloofness by giving the children her unconditional love.

In flashbacks, we see the eight-year old Blake (Bradley Johnson) seeing his father flaunting the rules by waving his stethoscope to get to the front of a queue waiting to enter a sports event; the fifteen-year-old Blake (Matthew Beard) putting up with his father's whimsy during a camping trip that left them soaked but liberated by driving lessons on the beach, his annoyance when his father, who called him "fathead", walked in on his first sexual awakening with a live-in-maid (Elaine Cassidy). We see the adult Blake (Colin Firth) recalling how his father refused to acknowledge his award of a literary prize at a gala, and then had the tenacity to call writing poetry "not a real job".

And When Did You Last See Your Father is a lyrical tone poem that is marked by brilliant performances. An honest and unsentimental film, it brings dignity to the subject of family relationships and has a powerful conclusion that left much of the audience, including myself, in tears. The best performances are by Matthew Beard as the sensitive but self-righteous adolescent who is hard put to give his father the benefit of the doubt and by Jim Broadbent as the overbearing but loving father. As the final days play out, the quality of Broadbent's performance is such that, while we understand Blake's misgivings, we can still see Arthur as a complex individual with both flaws and virtues. Blake still longs for his father's acceptance and, as his father lay dying, asks him: "It would be good to talk at some point, wouldn't it?" Yet the answer, "What about?" underscores the superficial banter that replaces conversation in many households.

At the end of the last conversation I had with my father before he died, he called me a horse's ass. That conversation was the final topper to a very complicated relationship as my father was a man that I feared as a child and pretty much disliked as an adult. Yet, some of the fondest memories I have of my life involve my father and our times together.

I guess all relationships between fathers and sons could best be described as knotty, but the one shown in this film, I must admit, hit very close to home. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed the film as much as I did, and it appears from the comments of viewers and critics that I enjoyed it far more than most viewers.

The basic story, I'm sure, has been repeated countless times throughout history and will be repeated countless times in the future. Blake, a highly successful writer and editor, never received the recognition of "a job well done" from his father. Arthur is a popular physician and raconteur who constantly failed to show his admiration for his son's profession.

Blake realized at an early age that his father had been having a long-term affair with his aunt, and this knowledge colored every part of their relationship. One thing that Blake cannot understand is why his mother stays married to his father for he is sure that she, also, is aware of her husband's relationship with her sister.

The story begins in the present, but most of it is told in flashbacks as Arthur is dying. The adult Blake is played by Colin Firth with just the right amount of distance and depression. He is not a happy man because he never has been able to come to terms with his feelings for his father. Teenaged Blake is played beautifully by Matthew Beard. It is this Blake that we see most of in the film, and his performance is impressive.

Juliet Stevenson is a wonderful actress, and she gives this film a strong, quiet - but not necessarily longtime suffering - performance as Blake's mother. She is one of those women whom you never realize her strength and resourcefulness until push comes to shove.

Jim Broadbent may be a touch over the top as Arthur, but, for me, he hits the nail on the head. We all have public and private faces. Arthur rarely reveals the private one. I found myself liking him in spite of myself.

As I said, this film turned out to be very personal to me. I found myself sometimes being amazed at how much Arthur was like my own father and Blake so much like myself. Even without the personal insight, I think you will find this a rewarding look at the bond between two strong, yet totally different men - OR - the bond between two strong, completely similar men. Fathers and sons - will that connection ever be fully understood?

After seeing 'When Did You Last See Your Father?', I was reminded that I was relieved that when I lost my Father a scant four years ago, we parted on very good terms. This is a powder keg of a film that manages to spill many tears & hidden truths about a father & son. The story, taken from the true accounts by writer Blake Morrison,is about the love/hate, love/love, hate/hate relationship Morrison shared with his own father, played to perfection by Jim Broadbent (of many a Mike Leigh film). Besides the well written/adapted screenplay,top notch direction & superb acting by the entire cast, I really admired the photography, utilizing light & dark & positioning as a framing device. The films's editing is a sight to behold, too (the way the action cuts back & forth in time over a period of 30 plus years). Hopefully, when Oscar time rolls around next year, 'When Did You Last See Your Father' will be a prime contender for at least a couple of awards.

Blake Morrison's memories are served for public consumption in a respectful but slightly confused rendition. Jim Broadbent delight us, once more, with his overgrown child of a father that seems a figment of her son's imagination. His childishness seems to be his only flaw. I couldn't help but being reminded of Tim Burton's "Big Fish" this time, with radically different flights of fancy. Colin Firth plays the writer/son as a crashing bore. Was that on purpose? I've been longing to see Firth again in parts like the ones he so amazingly captured - "Apartment Zero" comes to mind. Here earnest or not earnest, loving, selfish and so forth I didn't quite get myself interested enough to care as much as I feel I should have. Matthew Beard, the younger Blake and Juliet Stevens as the mother, manage to create more intriguing characters. The film, however, belongs to Jim Broadbent - His character is a loving mix of assorted British loving eccentrics. The fact that this is the way her son Blakes remembers him, makes the experience worth while.

No other actor could have played Jim Broadbent's part. He's fantastic as the stout father, who can never quite relay his intimate feelings and emotions to his son, who is played with understated brilliance by Colin Firth. Sarah Lancashire deserves a mention, who has a small part but delivers with consistent aplomb (she's great on the telly), and Matthew Beard as the young Blake Morrison, upon whom the film and book are auto-biographically based.

As his father lays on his deathbed, the son recounts his childhood memories of the part his dad played in his life, whether funny, mean, sad or eccentric. Smart direction plus great lead performances, at least one of which is definitely worthy of an Oscar, adds to the overall emotional connection with the audience and culminates with a surprisingly touching ending, despite it's inevitability.

Having seen the film with my mum, who not only read the book by Blake Morrison, but had a father much like the one portrayed in the film, I found it all the more connectible. But this is not to say it is not for everyone. I think we can all relate to the fathers who can never quite express how they truly feel, and the childhoods spent moping and dwelling on seemingly world-shattering things.

The cinema i saw this in had about ten people at most, which is shocking! We need to see more British films like this, if just to keep the British film industry going. It deserves to fill a theatre and gain much more exposure than it currently has, regardless of those who might say it would have been better placed on television.

It is a superb film, thoughtfully shot, very well written and a joy to be in the company of for all of it's ninety minutes. And yes, I cried at the end. Sniff. But maybe you will too.