The movie deals with the troubles between a father and a
son, portraying their past and present relationship.
Based on the 1993 novel “And When Did
You Last See Your Father?” written by Blake Morrison, the movie reveals the
incompatibilities between the outgoing, lively father Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent) and his introvert son Blake (Colin Firth). The story actually manages to make viewers wonder about their own relationship with their parents.
This delicate connection between father and son can often be damaged when egoism
makes its way into it.
The story begins with and old and defeated Arthur and his
accomplished son who has become, despite his father’s will, a writer.
When his father's cancer becomes more and more threatening, distant Blake finds it
necessary to come and try, somehow, to clear things related to his past and
forgive his father for his unhappy childhood.
The movie shows flashes of the family’s past,
majestically using the technique to picture for spectators Blake’s point of view of his father’s behavior.
This family puzzle has some missing pieces that need to
be found in order to allow the characters to reach some kind of closure.
Like objective therapists, viewers can watch the timid
and sensitive 14-year-old boy (Matthew Beard) beginning to hate his father as
he slowly changes from the “infallible” man he used to look up to into a
selfish, full of flaws and superfluous father.
One of the most powerful scenes, also present in the
movie’s trailer, shows 8-year-old-boy
Blake running towards his father’s car only to find him cheating on his
mother with Beaty (Sarah Lancashire), one of their neighbors.
The moment marks the beginning of his resentments towards
his father and his own troubled adolescence.
Although Arthur can be quite funny and courageous, the
people around him are just a means to contribute to his own welfare. Arthur never
listens to his son, making him do things he does not approve of or even likes.
He always gets his way by cheating, like in the scene where he lies to the police
in order to arrive in time at the racetrack.
That’s the problem with Arthur, he always takes
the easy way out, regardless of other people’s feelings. He doesn’t stop to
think that, maybe, his son can’t and doesn’t want to keep up with him. On the other
hand, Blake is too rigid and demanding of his father, not taking into account that nobody
is perfect.
The deep and meaningful story is sometimes monotonous as
the action (or lack of it) lingers and slightly abuses the viewer’s patience
and it’s clear that the movie focuses on the two men, leaving aside the
ladies. Blake’s mother Kim (Juliet Stevenson) and his wife Kathy (Gina McKee) make very short appearances in the movie.
All in all, movie director Anand Tucker manages to do a
good job in this 92 minutes film, keeping the viewer's interest alive all the way to its end.
When Did You Last See Your Father?
Director: Anand Tucker
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina
McKee, Sarah Lancashire, Elaine Cassidy, Matthew Beard
Runtime: 92 minutes
Also known as: And When Did You Last See Your Father?
