Colman and Hopkins join forces in complex story of dementia in new film 'The Father'

[February 26, 2021]  (Reuters) - Oscar winning duo Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman team up to tell the complex story of dementia in the new film "The Father," which opens to limited audiences in New York and Los Angeles on Friday.

Written and directed by Florian Zeller, Hopkins and Colman play father and daughter in the film about family, love and loss, taking audiences inside the mind of someone dealing with dementia.

"I've never seen anything written from that point of view before," said Colman. "But to be as confused and to be with him in his confusion, to suddenly go, oh, that's what it feels like. It was just brilliant."

"I was absolutely gripped. And I thought it was such an original and beautiful way of trying to express this, this heartbreaking condition," Colman said.

In his first-ever feature length film, the French director said he hoped audiences would let go to understand the film on a higher and emotional level.

"I wanted people ... to open the heart to just resonate with this pure human emotion," said Zeller.

"The Father" was first released as a play in 2012, with award-winning productions in France, London and New York. A French version of the film was produced in 2015.

The film will have a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on Feb. 26, with a wider debut on March 12 before hitting streaming services on March 26.

"Florian is so brilliant in his first ever feature film. He's better than most directors after their tenth, but just so calm and gentle," said Colman.

(Reporting by Alicia Powell; Writing by Diane Craft; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content