Remains of the Day
It will be a real shame if The Father is largely remembered as a kind of footnote or trivia answer, inextricably associated with the oddly anticlimactic ending of an unconventional Oscars ceremony. Conversely, if its last-minute Oscar upset provokes more people to actually seek out and see Florian Zeller's brilliant, haunting (and genuinely terrifying) film, then perhaps it's for the best? And better still if they know as little as possible going in, or else expect something like a typical, histrionic "Oscar drama."
I'll say no more for now (I plan to watch it again very soon...), except that Anthony Hopkins' lead turn is not only the year's best performance, but, without any hyperbole, one of the most powerful and indelible performances I've ever seen.
