Screening Vulnerability : Discussion | Part II: Old Age

Introducing The Father: Shahim Sheikh

The second film screened as part of ‘Screening Vulnerability’ was Florian Zeller’s 2020 film, ‘The Father’, under the category of ‘Old Age’. It is an adaptation of Zeller’s 2012 French play, ‘La Pere’ and stars Anthony Hopkins in another defining performance in a career that has had more than its fair share of them. In the film, we get a look at a deteriorating mental landscape and hence, its plot is difficult to summarize as a great deal of spatial and temporal alterations take place in
looking at the protagonist Anthony’s slow descent into dementia.

The vulnerability of mental faculties owing to old age has a long history in film but where ‘The Father’ adds a new chapter to it is by putting the audience in the shoes of Anthony as he tries to make sense of his surroundings, his altered perception of the world around him and constant unsettlement reflected in our own confusion at the nature of reality in the film. And it does it all without any aesthetic flourishes. This positioning of the audience in the shoes of a degenerating mind made it a natural choice for ‘Screening Vulnerability’ over other such films, like ‘Amour’ or ‘Vortex’. The agony of the caregiver and the extent to which such conditions can stretch filial obligations is the other chief concern of the film, hence elaborating on how vulnerable a family becomes in the face of such a condition. For Anthony Hopkins, it was a role specifically meant for him by Zeller and became especially important as he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2017. The tragedy of Anthony is not something that Hopkins conveys in his visible plight but in those heartbreaking moments where we know the confusion he feels and which he tries to hide, letting us know that despite himself, he understands the burden he has become on those around him.

Looking at vulnerability in The Father

Megha Mohanty

The Father is a movie that locates the vulnerability in illness, old age, and those taking care of the ill and the old. The most distinctive feature of the movie is that it does not aim at objective reality: the scenes could be reorganized in any order and it would still be the same, presenting a disjointed sense of reality, or what Martina Zimmerman calls “degenerative chronicity,” a scrambled sense of time and muddled sense of relationships (79). This is externalized throughout the film in the father’s preoccupation with holding on to his wrist-watch as he tries to metaphorically grasp on to whatever control he has left over his time and thus, resist degeneration, as well as  how the daughter’s role is transformed to a caregiver, who cooks for him and clothes him like a mother.

The two subjects of vulnerability in the movie are– the father, Anthony/the ill, and the daughter, Anne/ the caregiver. Anthony’s vulnerability arises from his position as an old man who is suffering from cognitive decline. In other words, Anthony is vulnerable because he is aging pathologically and hence, “unsuccessfully” (Cohen 68). This leads to a kind of social death long before his physical death as is explicated with his interactions with Anne’s partner, who treats Anthony degradingly, to the point of physical assault.

Anne’s vulnerability is twofold: emotional and biological. In stark contrast to Anthony’s situation, her fears and frustrations arise from the fact that she cannot forget the situation she finds herself in. With no autonomy left over her own life due to her caregiving duties, Anne’s life is further compounded by her father’s repeated mention of his dislike of her. Furthermore, even though we never get a direct insight into her perspective, the fact that she also faces a certain biological vulnerability due to her genetic predisposition towards the illness that her father suffers from, adds to her precariousness as a vulnerable subject.

Works Cited

Cohen, Lawrence. No Aging in India: Alzheimer’s, The Bad Family, and Other Modern Things. University of California Press, 1998.

Zimmermann, Martina. The Poetics and Politics of Alzheimer’s Disease Life-Writing. 2012, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Representing Vulnerability through Emotions

Prateeti Chowdhury

Florian Zeller’s The Father establishes at the onset that old age and Alzheimer’s disease are the causes of vulnerability. However, I was fascinated with how these vulnerabilities are depicted to the viewer. I propose that the portrayal of the characters’ emotions works as one of the modes to highlight the different aspects of vulnerability in the film. It must be noted that emotions work differently from feelings, as the latter refers to short-term and sensory responses to external stimuli. On the other hand, emotions are internalised, long-term states tied to the idea of a sense of self. The self gains an identity based on how it dictates and practises emotions. Since Alzheimer’s is characterised by a degeneration of the self, the ability to comprehend emotions are nullified, leaving behind only behavioural emotive practises. Throughout the movie, the protagonist behaves in set responses that are accreted over time and practise (certain emotive responses occur only in the presence of specific triggers). The newer sensations or feelings are muddled and incoherent. This gradual degeneration of the self and the subsequent befuddlement of emotions successfully demonstrate the protagonist’s vulnerability. Additionally, Anne’s filial duty as a caregiver is juxtaposed against her feelings of entrapment and hurt whenever she has to deal with her father’s mood swings or abuse. Her vulnerability thus stems from the fact that her position as a caregiver overshadows her private life/space.

The camera’s intentional gaze on the daughter’s facial expressions, the husband’s annoyed reactions, or the medical professional’s practised patience brings forth questions about the ethics of Alzheimer’s caregiving, while forcing the viewer to think about the ethics of ‘witnessing’ the Alzheimer patient’s gradual debility.

Doors into Geriatric Vulnerability: The Door as Symbol in The Father

Shreyasi Banerjee

The Father is a haunting portrayal of geriatric vulnerability brought on by forces which are genetic, and therefore, inevitable. The film manages to portray this through several symbols, one of which is the layout of the apartment the titular Father and his family reside in.

Almost every shot of the film involves a hallway with doors, which could represent the Father’s life and living quarters as he remembers them- with his memory and cognitive senses failing him, the hallways blend together, until neither him nor the audience can tell where he is with any certainty. The doors shown are either open or closed halfway, and every time a character passes through these doors, there is no guarantee they will return. This lack of object permanence is uncanny to the viewers and downright horrifying to the Father, since he can never ensure who is in the room with him, and whether they will be back once they leave. Whether they choose to leave the room or his memories is the bigger question- even though the Father craves independence and agency, how does one set about doing that in a space where you can never tell if you’re dealing with strangers or your family?

Edited by: Sreelakshmy M