When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) User Reviews

Ignores Hollywood Standards

[reelinspiration · 8/10 · 11 July 2008]

Reel Inspiration Review: When Did You Last See Your Father.

When Did You Last See Your Father ignores standard Hollywood wisdom: Keep the title short and catchy. Avoid flashbacks. The action should be external, not internal. Make films that appeal to teenage boys. And most of all, don't do stories about old, dying people.

In an article about what sells in Hollywood, an agent moans that she just can't read one more story about coping with aging, dying parents. The market was glutted with them. I couldn't help but think that this must be a very timely and heartfelt theme since it was popping up in so many scripts. Is it possible that there's an adult audience hungry for stories that help them deal with the hard issues in their lives?

When Did You Last See Your Father is based on Blake Morrison's heart wrenchingly honest autobiographical bestseller. It is the story of the forty year old writer's attempts to resolve his troubled relationship with his father as he deals with his immanent death. Collin Firth courageously portrays the estranged son's sometimes unlikable sentiments of resentment, frustration, confusion, and disappointment tinged with compassion for his fading father. Being home brings back memories of coming of age in his charismatic father's shadow and discovering some hard realities about the man. Thanks to Jim Broadbent's dynamic performance, we can see why the son was once proud of him - even though he never felt his father's approval. Blake goes on an internal journey where he finds that he has some of his father's weaknesses. He must decide what kind of man he is to become. At first, the film's lengthy title seems to accuse the grown son of neglecting his father. But by the end, we discover that the title actually asks, "When was the last time you really saw your father - without your own feelings of inadequacy and resentment getting in the picture? When was the last time you saw love?"

Movie Blessings! Jana Segal reelinspiration dot blogspot dot com

Superbly crafted film, great performances and genuinely touching

[standeman1984 · 8/10 · 6 October 2007]

No other actor could have played Jim Broadbent's part. He's fantastic as the stout father, who can never quite relay his intimate feelings and emotions to his son, who is played with understated brilliance by Colin Firth. Sarah Lancashire deserves a mention, who has a small part but delivers with consistent aplomb (she's great on the telly), and Matthew Beard as the young Blake Morrison, upon whom the film and book are auto-biographically based.

As his father lays on his deathbed, the son recounts his childhood memories of the part his dad played in his life, whether funny, mean, sad or eccentric. Smart direction plus great lead performances, at least one of which is definitely worthy of an Oscar, adds to the overall emotional connection with the audience and culminates with a surprisingly touching ending, despite it's inevitability.

Having seen the film with my mum, who not only read the book by Blake Morrison, but had a father much like the one portrayed in the film, I found it all the more connectible. But this is not to say it is not for everyone. I think we can all relate to the fathers who can never quite express how they truly feel, and the childhoods spent moping and dwelling on seemingly world-shattering things.

The cinema i saw this in had about ten people at most, which is shocking! We need to see more British films like this, if just to keep the British film industry going. It deserves to fill a theatre and gain much more exposure than it currently has, regardless of those who might say it would have been better placed on television.

It is a superb film, thoughtfully shot, very well written and a joy to be in the company of for all of it's ninety minutes. And yes, I cried at the end. Sniff. But maybe you will too.

Recollections of Father and Son Relationship

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 11 December 2009]

The writer Blake Morrison (Colin Firth) has a non-resolved relationship with his bragger and wolf father Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent). However, when he is diagnosed with a terminal intestine cancer, Blake leaves his wife and children and travel to the village where he spent his childhood and adolescence to help his mother and his sister to take care of Arthur along his last days. The location brings recollections of his problematic relationship with his father.

"And When Did You Last See Your Father?" is a sensitive movie about father and son problematic relationship. Through the recollections of Blake, the viewer understand the many unresolved situations that made him indifferent (or even hating) his flawed father that loved him indeed. In the end, it dawns on him that his father is gone and he will never see him again; and he grieves and regrets the lost moments he had along his life to stay with him. And you, when did you last see your father? My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Quando Você Viu Seu Pai Pela Última Vez?" ("When Did You Last See Your Father?")

It's Not Called "Gimmickery": It's Called "Craft"

[heckchap · 7/10 · 20 December 2007]

I'm astonished by the miserable so-and-sos above who complain about the "overdone production" on this movie.

Anand Tucker and his crew have taken obvious pains to elevate a conventional story into a visual tone poem. Every shot shines with polish, care, and attention. If it said "A Ridley Scott Movie" at the beginning, the reviews would read "Scott brings his usual visual excellence to bear."

A terrific little movie, elevated out of its class, with nice performances (I especially enjoyed the underused Gina McKee, who is practically luminous in every scene).

Now, the rest of you get back to watching and praising the drab and visually tedious kitchen sink junk that the British film industry does "so" well...

Smaller Fish

[don_agu · 7/10 · 21 October 2007]

Blake Morrison's memories are served for public consumption in a respectful but slightly confused rendition. Jim Broadbent delight us, once more, with his overgrown child of a father that seems a figment of her son's imagination. His childishness seems to be his only flaw. I couldn't help but being reminded of Tim Burton's "Big Fish" this time, with radically different flights of fancy. Colin Firth plays the writer/son as a crashing bore. Was that on purpose? I've been longing to see Firth again in parts like the ones he so amazingly captured - "Apartment Zero" comes to mind. Here earnest or not earnest, loving, selfish and so forth I didn't quite get myself interested enough to care as much as I feel I should have. Matthew Beard, the younger Blake and Juliet Stevens as the mother, manage to create more intriguing characters. The film, however, belongs to Jim Broadbent - His character is a loving mix of assorted British loving eccentrics. The fact that this is the way her son Blakes remembers him, makes the experience worth while.

An honest and unsentimental film

[howard.schumann · 10/10 · 23 June 2008]

My last recollection of my father was the look on his face after I placed him in a nursing home in Miami, Florida. Wracked by Parkinson's disease and heart trouble, I was saddened by how far removed he was from the authoritarian and emotionally distant man I feared when I was young, yet a lifetime of resentment could not be entirely forgotten. Indeed, in our society the pressure to love our fathers no matter how awful their behavior is so strong that it often leaves children deeply conflicted. Anand Tucker's And When Did You Last See Your Father? is a film about such conflict, though it does not question the underlying bond of love. Based on the autobiography by British writer Blake Morrison with a screenplay by David Nicholls, the film's title asks the question "when" but seeks an answer that requires more than a date. It asks for the last time in your life when you really saw your father, not as an authority figure but as a complete human being, the complex individual that you may have never seen before.

The film charts the relationship between Doctor Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent) and his son Blake (Colin Firth), a writer, over a period of thirty years. As his dad lies dying of cancer, Blake is reminded of their difficult relationship over the years. Using mirrors to suggest there are many different angles with which to view life, Tucker catches events in Blake's life that remain with him and threaten to keep the two apart at a moment when they clearly need each other. Through extensive flashbacks showing Blake as a child, teenager, and adult, the film allows us to understand how events, both small and large, took on mass as the years went by. It makes clear that while Arthur was a devoted father, he was not above being overbearing, deceitful and duplicitous, especially regarding his infidelities with Aunt Beattie (Sarah Lancashire), an open secret in the household, though one that his wife (Juliet Stevenson) came to accept. Stevenson is outstanding in her role of the suffering partner who tries to make up for her husband's aloofness by giving the children her unconditional love.

In flashbacks, we see the eight-year old Blake (Bradley Johnson) seeing his father flaunting the rules by waving his stethoscope to get to the front of a queue waiting to enter a sports event; the fifteen-year-old Blake (Matthew Beard) putting up with his father's whimsy during a camping trip that left them soaked but liberated by driving lessons on the beach, his annoyance when his father, who called him "fathead", walked in on his first sexual awakening with a live-in-maid (Elaine Cassidy). We see the adult Blake (Colin Firth) recalling how his father refused to acknowledge his award of a literary prize at a gala, and then had the tenacity to call writing poetry "not a real job".

And When Did You Last See Your Father is a lyrical tone poem that is marked by brilliant performances. An honest and unsentimental film, it brings dignity to the subject of family relationships and has a powerful conclusion that left much of the audience, including myself, in tears. The best performances are by Matthew Beard as the sensitive but self-righteous adolescent who is hard put to give his father the benefit of the doubt and by Jim Broadbent as the overbearing but loving father. As the final days play out, the quality of Broadbent's performance is such that, while we understand Blake's misgivings, we can still see Arthur as a complex individual with both flaws and virtues. Blake still longs for his father's acceptance and, as his father lay dying, asks him: "It would be good to talk at some point, wouldn't it?" Yet the answer, "What about?" underscores the superficial banter that replaces conversation in many households.

Could have been great

[Gordon-11 · 23 February 2008]

This film is about a man recalling his childhood and teenage memories, as his father lays dying due to cancer.

The scenes are nicely composed, but I think mirrors are way overused. There are times when an entire scene consists of mirror reflections. There are also times when it seems the film is playing through a kaleidoscope.

I was thoroughly confused between who is who in 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?", because of the lack of introduction of the characters. This is made worse by having the same characters in three different eras, namely childhood, teenage and adult years. It's a great pity, because "And When Did You Last See Your Father?" would have been touching and beautiful if I understood it more. Instead, I found it a terrible bore.

Loss and Fathers

[jeroduptown · 7/10 · 24 November 2021]

Firth is losing his father and remembering through all the times (hard, crazy and maddening) that he had with him. As he deals with loss and searches for affirmation from his dad, his trip through the memories eventually grounds him.

How to take a familiar subject and make a superb film from it

[audresonmichael · 9/10 · 26 September 2007]

This is a beautifully written, well acted but above all wonderfully directed film looking at a man who learns about himself by finding out about his father. Colin Firth plays a real writer who wrote an auto-biographical novel about his relationship with his father played by Jim Broadbent. It's not a spoiler to say that the father is dying because that diagnosis is given very early on. While the family waits for him to die, events take Firth's memories effortlessly through his past showing him played very well by young actors at 8 and 17.

The events are funny and moving but restrained within a believable reality. Firth learns to live with his father's behaviour as we see that he isn't perfect either. It's positive about life without being sentimental, terrific film.

So well made

[david_r_cox · 7/10 · 19 October 2021]

A true story of a father/son relationship, so well acted by Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth, it was impossible to like the father and yet there was a bond .

Fine acting, gimmicky production

[RKBlumenau · 4/10 · 10 October 2007]

An interesting if somewhat conventional story. A jolly, slightly raffish, can-do, insensitive but loving father is resented by his son, especially during the son's teenage years. These are recalled by the son when he comes to visit his father on his death-bed. He wants to make peace with his father who has never realized how much his son had resented him. A shame that the fine and expressive acting by Jim Broadbent (father), Juliet Stevenson (mother), Matthew Beard (as teenage son) and Colin Firth (as adult son) is swamped by 1. an unbearably gimmicky production (multiple images in mirrors - pointless; jerking too abruptly from scene to scene; excessive chiaroscuro; 2. diction, as so often these days, not always clear; 3. subsidiary aspects of the plot ditto. I can remember the days when such a subject would have been presented much more simply and straightforwardly and would then have been very much more moving. A great disappointment.

A Shining Path To Healing Age Old Wounds

[Seamus2829 · 10/10 · 6 July 2008]

After seeing 'When Did You Last See Your Father?', I was reminded that I was relieved that when I lost my Father a scant four years ago, we parted on very good terms. This is a powder keg of a film that manages to spill many tears & hidden truths about a father & son. The story, taken from the true accounts by writer Blake Morrison,is about the love/hate, love/love, hate/hate relationship Morrison shared with his own father, played to perfection by Jim Broadbent (of many a Mike Leigh film). Besides the well written/adapted screenplay,top notch direction & superb acting by the entire cast, I really admired the photography, utilizing light & dark & positioning as a framing device. The films's editing is a sight to behold, too (the way the action cuts back & forth in time over a period of 30 plus years). Hopefully, when Oscar time rolls around next year, 'When Did You Last See Your Father' will be a prime contender for at least a couple of awards.

Was I at a different film?

[timothyjohncowhig · 1/10 · 5 December 2007]

This film was like one of those recipes that has all the right ingredients but just does not turn out well when the dish is cooked.

It is interesting to see an examination of a theme such as the father son relationship. But this no modern Turgenev instead it owes more to soap than the classics.

What went wrong? Well not much except for the script and the acting. Jim Broadbent did his best with the thin material. But Juliet Stevenson as his wife was very wooden and unconvincing. Finally turning to Colin Firth we have an actor in danger of turning into a parody of himself where far away looks and an inability to commit become as much his signatures as Hugh Grants foppish Englishman.

All in all a piece of unconvincing saccharin mush.

And When Did You Last Really See Your Son?

[Red-125 · 9/10 · 27 July 2008]

"And When Did You Last See Your Father?" (2007) is an English film directed by Anand Tucker. It reminded me of the U.S. film, "The Savages," because the central plot of both movies involves a dying father who has not lived an exemplary life. Jim Broadbent is superb as Arthur, an obviously wealthy man who nevertheless goes through life cheating and manipulating people in small ways. He has a bluff, hearty, hail-fellow-well-met personality that charms people who meet him for the first time. In reality, he bullies his son and cheats on his wife. (Juliet Stevenson is excellent in the supporting role of wife and mother, as is Matthew Beard who plays Blake as a teenager.)

Colin Firth is equally convincing as Arthur's son, Blake. He's a successful award-winning writer, who nonetheless sees himself as perpetually in his father's shadow. Both men must come to grips with the situation when Arthur develops terminal cancer.

Broadbent and Firth look like each other, so it's easy to accept them as father and son. The film unfolds in an intelligent and interesting fashion. It's both artistically satisfying and philosophically challenging. I think the movie has been underrated by IMDb viewers. It's low key and thoughtful, but that's what it's supposed to be. There's nothing about it that struck me as artificially artistic. It's an honest and effective film, and worth seeking out and seeing.

Hits Really Close to Home

[nturner · 8/10 · 15 November 2008]

At the end of the last conversation I had with my father before he died, he called me a horse's ass. That conversation was the final topper to a very complicated relationship as my father was a man that I feared as a child and pretty much disliked as an adult. Yet, some of the fondest memories I have of my life involve my father and our times together.

I guess all relationships between fathers and sons could best be described as knotty, but the one shown in this film, I must admit, hit very close to home. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed the film as much as I did, and it appears from the comments of viewers and critics that I enjoyed it far more than most viewers.

The basic story, I'm sure, has been repeated countless times throughout history and will be repeated countless times in the future. Blake, a highly successful writer and editor, never received the recognition of "a job well done" from his father. Arthur is a popular physician and raconteur who constantly failed to show his admiration for his son's profession.

Blake realized at an early age that his father had been having a long-term affair with his aunt, and this knowledge colored every part of their relationship. One thing that Blake cannot understand is why his mother stays married to his father for he is sure that she, also, is aware of her husband's relationship with her sister.

The story begins in the present, but most of it is told in flashbacks as Arthur is dying. The adult Blake is played by Colin Firth with just the right amount of distance and depression. He is not a happy man because he never has been able to come to terms with his feelings for his father. Teenaged Blake is played beautifully by Matthew Beard. It is this Blake that we see most of in the film, and his performance is impressive.

Juliet Stevenson is a wonderful actress, and she gives this film a strong, quiet - but not necessarily longtime suffering - performance as Blake's mother. She is one of those women whom you never realize her strength and resourcefulness until push comes to shove.

Jim Broadbent may be a touch over the top as Arthur, but, for me, he hits the nail on the head. We all have public and private faces. Arthur rarely reveals the private one. I found myself liking him in spite of myself.

As I said, this film turned out to be very personal to me. I found myself sometimes being amazed at how much Arthur was like my own father and Blake so much like myself. Even without the personal insight, I think you will find this a rewarding look at the bond between two strong, yet totally different men - OR - the bond between two strong, completely similar men. Fathers and sons - will that connection ever be fully understood?

eeeeuuuuwwww

[garwy · 3/10 · 1 October 2007]

as a result of going to a cinema with a number of trainee staff i ended up seeing this film as part of a double-bill with the new seann william scott squirmcom 'mr. woodcock'. i don't usually watch seann william scott films unless you nail me to the seat - but on this occasion the two films were a useful contrast.

both 'mr. woodcock' and 'and when did you last ...' are basically films about young men who obsess about a parent's sex-life. 'mr. woodcock' plays this theme as a gross-out comedy - and makes for very uncomfortable with few laughs. 'and when did you last ...' instead opts for pathos, so the film is only uncomfortable.

'and when did you last ...' will appeal to a certain type of determined viewer of British films. there are lovingly reconstructed vignettes of 1950s middle-class Britain (the eldest son's eyes light up when his family gets a new maid: 'meat!' he thinks), careless praise of English sangfroid (to take their minds off the cuban missile crisis father and son go camping), and more masturbation (tastefully presented) than you see in most of the 'american pie' movies.

but it didn't appeal to this viewer, who thought it was very nearly a paradigm - in its careless snobbery, its prurience, its feyness, and its casual misogyny - of what has been wrong with British film for most of the last twenty years, and apparently shows no hope of improving.

A tragic universal story

[dedoc1 · 9/10 · 18 June 2008]

At its simplest this movie is about the love between two men - a father and son - that in spite of a deep desire to connect, cannot be shared between the two. At least not in life. And not until it is too late. Sadly, it is a story that is all too prevalent in our society.

The film reflects this theme again and again with flashbacks of the son's experiences growing up with the father. Of course this is the son's world view and the film does not cover the father's perspective of events. So the question remains unanswered - was there truly no point of contact for the love between the two, or was the son blind to, or incapable of, receiving the love of the father?

Well worth the investment of 92 minutes of your time.

"He felt like he wasn't living unless he was cheating at something..."

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 4 July 2010]

Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth are well-cast (and excellent as usual) portraying a father and son in the latter portion of their days together. The blustery old father has been diagnosed with cancer and has only a short time left to live, causing his son--who was always embarrassed of his dad's cheating and running around--to reflect on their times together. No new insights or observations into the eternal tug-of-war that goes on between parent and child, though it is a well-accomplished, finely-tuned drama. The flashbacks are a bit of a nuisance after a time, as one longs for more insight into the present. Firth, who always seems to be photographed from behind a piece of furniture or a banister, is controlled and subdued while Broadbent gets the juicier part of his showboating elder, the kind of man who expects applause for his rampant storytelling and joshing and his stinging criticism. Watchable film is occasionally incisive with uncomfortable truths, and is undoubtedly moving by the finish, though it isn't a big night at the movies. ** from ****

Lights dimmed, phone unhooked, wine uncorked, then press PLAY.

[Cinema_Fan · 10/10 · 15 January 2009]

Mirrors and reflections are the dominating forces here that project an extremely beautiful and melancholy father and son relationship. As the film progresses and the time-passages segue into both past and present tense, throughout, we see what it is to feel regret, discontent and anger. Seen through the eyes of the son, Blake, and his struggle to overcome his overbearing fathers unconsciously selfish and dominating carefree persona. This is a young child, a growing teen and now middle-aged man who, after all the years gone by, is still failing in his own personal duties to fully embrace the shortcomings and inadvertent arrogance of his father.

Based on Blake Morrison's autobiographical account on his own relationship with his father, the title in itself is a question that comprises a poignant air of respect. Throughout, too, an engaging use of mirrors is at the forefront of the narrative, a charming, imaginative and very interesting metaphor of reflective reconciliation. It is with this tone that director Anand Tucker finds a balance of dry wit and sympathy concerning Jim Broadbent's outgoing and cancer-bearing Arthur, Matthew Beard as the angst ridden, frustrated teenage son and Colin Firth's older Blake and his reflective unhappiness.

And When Did You Last See Your Father? has the hallmarks of a wonderful concoction of emotion: humour, empathy, sorrow and tenderness and with the purely stunning and beautiful cinematography, as done by Howard Atherton (Lassie, 2005), a script of deep regret, in all, shows more than a beautiful and extremely touching vision of life.

Simply stunning. Simply beautiful. Simply breathtaking.

Great Narration, and Fulfilling Story

[pc95 · 8/10 · 13 November 2010]

One of the better movies of the last couple years, "When Did you Last See Your Father" is an engrossing look at a Father/Son relationship with superb narration from Colin Firth who also stars in the movie. At times the pacing slows, but the filmmakers more than make up for it with a grand-slam ending 10-12 min or so, (spoiler) where we the audience can feel the protagonists confusion melt away into clarity of bereavement and grieving. For me, some decent movies out there like this one get lifted up by truly great or cathartic scenes. Ones which open a flood-gate of empathy. Mathew Beard and Jim Broadbent also are quite good. Recommended Drama.

Not particularly good

[qui_j · 4/10 · 18 May 2021]

This film has a lot of good actors but they never seem to get into the script at all. It all comes across as a fairly mechanical production where they just read a script and think of the movie as a job so that they can pay rent or their mortgages. There really is little depth or empathy to the film, and this is due to the weak script and mechanical actng. On the whole it was a bit disappointing and just did not live up to expectations or achieve full potential.

Powerful

[sifc33 · 8/10 · 24 November 2011]

I'm wondering why this movie didn't do as well in the states, or at least advertised more. I don't even remember hearing about it, when it was released, though that's typical with the American movie market.

At any rate, I only heard of this movie by browsing through Colin Firth's catalog, and was pleasantly surprised.

Really powerful performances on all accounts, and you can really develop a disdain for the "father" from the son's point-of-view. Their relationship was strained, and at the end of life their is an attempt to reconciliation.

SPOILER The ending scene when Firth is alone, and remembering his dad as he's saying goodbye as a son/adult, is SO AWESOME. I totally started crying and was moved by the scene.

Get a life

[ozziemaland · 18 June 2008]

_And When Did You Last See Your Father_ is mainly a story about a son's feelings toward his father, supposedly a true story. Stripping away all the extraneous plot elements, the big question for the son becomes the cheating issue. When his father dies, he confronts one of the women with whom the father might have had a continuing affair, asking if their relationship became physical. She says that that question needs to remain unanswered out of respect for the deceased and herself. Colin Firth, playing the son, acts as if this is an impossible situation for him, not knowing. Dr. Phil would tell him to stop whining and get on with his life. This movie, in my opinion, is just a write-up of the whine so as to cash in on its commercial value. I don't think director Mike Leigh would have accepted any amount of money to dignify that story line with a movie, but if he had done so, he would have given us a movie far, far better than this one. -- Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego

Sadly not the film it could have been.

[studioAT · 2/10 · 30 June 2017]

Sometimes a film can have a great cast attached, a good script and a good director and still come up short. For a good example of that see this film.

It's not bad by any means, it just doesn't achieve it's potential. I thought Colin Firth did well, ditto Jim Broadbent, but there is too slow a pace, and too much wasted dialogue for this film to do a lot for me sadly.

It's a shame because it should have been great

Pop Song

[writers_reign · 8/10 · 5 October 2007]

It's a great pity that this marvellous film was released after Atonement because it blows it out of the water. Unlike Atonement which was above all a cynical exercise in Festival film making closely allied to multi-media hype And When Did You Last See Your Father is just about making a high quality film aimed at the Art House rather than the Multiplex audience and any Awards/Nominations it happens to garner will be a bonus rather than a deliberate target. It's never been a secret that Jim Broadbent is one of Englands' finest actors and here he gives arguably his finest performance on film; Colin Firth on the other hand is best known for a well-polished limited range, perhaps limited by lack of opportunity rather than lack of talent and here he offers support of the highest quality. Juliet Stevenson has done far better work than this and indeed one wonders why she accepted a part that she can walk through and any film that features Sarah Lancashire is going to have at least a few worthwhile moments when she is on screen. In what amounts to a glorified cameo she comes into her own at the very end of the film in a standout scene with Colin Firth. Whilst hardly a film to send you of of the cinema with a song in your heat and a smile on your lips it is one to warm you a little and earn your respect.