Anthony Hopkins is at his outstanding, Oscar-winning best as a confused and paranoid dementia-sufferer in Florian Zeller’s disquieting debut film.

The film seamlessly blends genuine fear with overwhelming sadness.

[Anthony Hopkins] is absolutely remarkable here. I read the screenplay, available online, out of curiosity, and what he brings to the words on the page is beyond and beyond and beyond. Hopkins has played King Lear (twice) but this is his real King Lear.

As much of a disquieting horror film as it is a deeply-felt drama, The Father finds an inherent, disturbingly cinematic vehicle out of its protagonist’s psychological instability — yet never at the cost of Anthony’s dignity or sense of identity.