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And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)

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From Time Out London

The title is from the 1878 painting by WF Yeames, which Blake Morrison later borrowed as the title for his 1993 book – a moving response to the death of his father that favours accurate recollection over extended meditation or self-flagellation. In both book and film, we move back and forth between a few months in the early 1990s that see the illness and death of Morrison’s father, Arthur (Jim Broadbent), a retired doctor in a Yorkshire village, and the late ’50s and ’60s when Blake (played then by Bradley Johnson) is a curious teenager, embarrassed by his father’s gregarious personality and suspicious of his relationship with bubbly family friend Beaty (Sarah Lancashire). The screen darkens for the later episodes, as Arthur discovers he has cancer, falls ill quickly and dies, forcing Blake (now played by Colin Firth) to confront his stormy relationship with his father and help care for him in his final days with his mother, Kim (Juliet Stevenson). The portrayal of death is stark and unpolished.

The transfer of a first-person memoir from page to screen is often tricky, yet Anand Tucker (‘Hilary and Jackie’) and writer David Nicholls manage the task mostly with success, largely by sticking rigidly to the detail and structure of Morrison’s book. It’s not a radical solution, and visually the results are unexceptional. However, the story is well-handled and sensitively performed so as to avoid excess sentimentality and to do justice to Morrison’s work and, one imagines, his father. It’s certainly a moving film, and many will find its close examination of a father-son relationship particularly cathartic and reflective.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 1937: October 3-9 2007

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User reviews of this film

Technoguy said...

Posted on Apr 09 2008 20:16 When you see’ When did you last see your father?’ it taps into recognition of similar
experiences in one’s own life. It is the sensitive young man’s reminiscence of personality as a force of gravity which he must pull away and rise from if he is to become independent.The English do these kind of memoirs very well which actors like Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent are the excellent interpreters of. We have a transition from the young boy’s adoration,the teenager’s embarrassment and loathing
and the mature man’s understanding of the mystery of his father’s effect on all his
relationships. You above all realize the fun,the humour,the laughter and the love
of all the people,wife,mistress(‘aunty’),daughter and especially son.The guilt and the pain are in the wake of the ebulliently extrovert Mr Morrison,life force extraordinaire.
How the young Blake struggles with girls in between reading Dosteyevski while watching them being charmed by the older man.If the young Blake’s parents had divorced he would have ended up living with his mother while keeping friendly with his father,going fishing or football or on holiday with him.Total disconnection would have been like cutting off a limb or draining the very essence of one’s brain. He has let his father down anyway by not following him into the doctor’s profession.The film
shows the effects of the father’s last really alive presence being diminished by cancer
and then death and the son’s very real memories of that vitality and complexity.

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sylvia said...

Posted on Nov 03 2007 21:32 sensitive and thought provoking. Many will relate to this human story.

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Aliason Fairgrieve said...

Posted on Nov 03 2007 03:56 I agree with Chloe Clegg. This unflinchingly honest view of a father /son re;ationship has been
delicately realised by the film makers in a way which gives dignity and humour to flawed human lives.

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Chloe Clegg said...

Posted on Oct 09 2007 17:05 This is a beautifully understated but moving film with exceptional performances and a thought-provoking theme which should encourage us all to examine our realtionship with our parents.

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Steph said...

Posted on Oct 06 2007 20:20 This film is sooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! Everyone go see it, you wont be disappointed! Everyone with a dad should watch this film
x

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Chloe Adam Steph said...

Posted on Oct 06 2007 20:18 This Film Is Amazing! I Recommend It. Everyone Watch It

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