Film:  When Did You Last See Your Father?
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Anand Tucker
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Elaine Cassidy
Release: June 6^th, 2008
Film length: 92 minutes
Rating: PG13 content, thematic material and brief strong language  

Reviewed By: Monika Wierzibicki (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada)  

This film was a beautifully done subtle study in perspectives. For a movie that addresses such serious topics as marriage, fidelity, and the complex relationships that are formed throughout life this movie is made with an incredibly light touch. There is nothing heavy handed or overly stated in this lovely film. From the delicate and creative shots of glass, mirrors, and windows to the wonderfully appropriate music "When Did You Last See Your Father" does not miss a beat.

Based on the memoir by Blake Morrison (which I really want to read after seeing this film) the movie follows the story of Blake and the complex relationship he has with his father. Blake a successful writer despite his father's wishes that he had become a doctor is forced to examine their relationship when his father becomes terminally ill. As he recollects incidents from his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood Blake struggles to come to terms with the kind of person his father actually was. The film moves effortlessly from past to present with flawless (and often very creative) transitions. The issue of truly "seeing" a person depends on perspective. Blake's father in the film is a different person to different people and while Blake himself is often irritated by and frustrated with his father others love, respect, and admire him. It is when he begins to see his father through the eyes of others that Blake is able to develop a more complete perspective in regards to him.

The cast was stellar, Jim Broadbent who plays Blake's father Arthur was an absolute joy to watch; he brought to the character an earnest twinkling-eyed humanity, and a charm that made it impossible not to like him. Colin Firth as Blake was wonderfully understated often portraying the most intense and painful emotions with a raw and tormented look in his eyes, his strongly held stoicism begins to crumble near the end of the movie in a scene that is nothing short of heartbreaking. In a role that could simply have been the one of long suffering wife and mother Juliet Stevenson gives an unexpected complexity and depth. She crafts a well developed and intricate character through a sly knowing smile, or a secretive look in her eyes that suggests just how much she really knows about her husband.