Critics have called the prolific French writer Florian Zeller “the most exciting playwright of our times,” and his second film as writer-director confirms that he’s equally adept when it comes to cinema. Despite Anthony Hopkins’ Academy Award for Best Actor, The Father didn’t find the audience it should have (its release coincided with COVID-19). His follow-up, adapted from the play of the same name by Zeller’s regular English translator, Christopher Hampton, is as sharp, insightful, and devastating. Teenager Nicolas (Zen McGrath) is suffering from depression and has stopped going to school. It’s so bad, his mom Kate (Laura Dern) hands him over to his father, Peter (Hugh Jackman), who is celebrating a baby with his new wife, Beth (Vanessa Kirby). Perhaps a stepbrother will raise Nic’s spirits? Peter vows to do everything he can to help—but Nic descends still further.
As in The Father, Zeller uses the subjectivity of the camera to access mental spaces that seem impenetrable from the outside. There are no easy answers here, but the film’s emotional pull is direct and undeniable.
Presented by
Florian Zeller
Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Hugh Quarshie, Anthony Hopkins
UK
2022
English
Self Harm
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
There's Still Tomorrow
A critical and box office sensation in Italy, Paola Cortellesi's triumphant directorial debut is the tale of a Roman housewife in 1946, who stands up against the routine sexist abuse she suffers. Funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.
The Way, My Way
All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.
The Stand
This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.
Resident Orca
Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Misericordia
Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, this film goes from drama to comedy without putting a foot wrong. Sex and murder are the subjects, and writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) mines them for suspense and outrageous laughs.
Credits
Executive Producer
Simon Gillis, Philippe Carcassonne, Hugh Jackman, Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden, Lauren Dark, Peter Touche, Christelle Conan, Hugo Grumbar, Tim Haslam
Producer
Joanna Laurie, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Florian Zeller, Christophe Spadone
Screenwriter
Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
Cinematography
Ben Smithard
Editor
Yorgos Lamprinos
Production Design
Simon Bowles
Original Music
Hans Zimmer