Movie #120........................."When Did You Last See Your Father?"

Movie #120 "When Did You Last See Your Father?" was a very emotional film for me; it struck a cord --something in this father-son and mother-son relationship that I could identify with. The dying of cancer is a common theme in films nowadays, but the way this film was photographed/edited, It kept me intrigued until the last moments (it moved me to tears, and I'm thinking this is the first one of the 120 that has --- not that I try to dodge that or look for it, just an observation --- I'm thinking independent films might consider it a "lame" thing, perhaps manipulative or contrived if a film goes there --but I don't agree.....it's icing on the cake to me at times, depending on how it is handled --- and this was quite good) It's the editing and acting that shine here ---- I just saw Colin Firth in "A Single Man" and he's so good, esp. in the quiet moments (many in that film) , but better here because there's more to do and he works off of beloved Jim Broadbent so well --- the dad reminded me of my dad, the duplicitous nature of the man ----- charming everyone but his own kids, and I guess that was the familiar cord struck here for me --- how to love a person who is seemingly loved by everyone else and whom you know loves you, but the feeling is just not there for you. The last editing move, where the 19 year old son (who has almost as much screen time as Firth, who plays him older) goes off to college and is hugged by a tearful dad whom he resents -------- and then as the camera turns around them hugging, it changes to Firth saying his final goodbye to his dad...............it was quite good and quite emotional and cinched the movie for me. When I went to rottentomatoes to see what they said, it got a 73%, which is good, but someone said the pacing was slow. Hah! That person should see "No Country for old Men" --- now that's meaninglessly slow, in my opinion. On the contrary, I appreciated the constant movement from young to old to young to old constantly in the film. In fact, sometimes the attitude was "hang on --- see if you can follow it here!" and I embraced the style!





Average rating: 3.143
I gave it 4 stars
When Did You Last See Your Father?
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
(2007) PG-13
When his father (Jim Broadbent) becomes terminally ill, Blake Morrison (Colin Firth) struggles to come to terms with the charming but duplicitous man he really was, reliving the memories that shaped their relationship through a series of flashbacks. As Blake travels between his wife and two children in London and his childhood home, his emotional difficulty is mirrored in the agony his father confronts as he succumbs to the cancer.