The Father (2020)
A realistic, deeply empathetic, and disquieting look at the fraying fabric of memory and identity.
A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
Rent on Prime Video $2.99 (opens in a new tab) Buy on Apple TV $14.99 (opens in a new tab)
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 23 December 2020 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | Florian Zeller |
| Starring | Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman and Mark Gatiss |
| Runtime | 97 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.7 · Metacritic 88/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 98% · IMDb 8.2/10 · TMDB users 8.1/10 |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $25 million worldwide |
Where to watch The Father
We could not find The Father on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Rent or buy
You can rent The Father on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and Spectrum On Demand. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Father in 25 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | Netflix about |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Netflix about |
| Bulgaria | Netflix €5.99 |
| Croatia | Netflix €5.99 |
| Czechia | Netflix 259 Kč |
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK, Max 129 kr DKK |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99, Max €11.99 |
| Hungary | Netflix 3190 Ft |
| Iceland | Netflix about 1634 kr ISK |
| India | Prime Video ₹299 |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, Hulu |
| Montenegro | Netflix |
| Netherlands | Max €11.99 |
| North Macedonia | Netflix about |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK, Max 149 kr NOK, NRK free |
| Poland | Netflix 37.00 zł |
| Portugal | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Romania | Netflix about 32.09 lei |
| Serbia | Netflix about 705 din |
| Slovakia | Netflix €9.49 |
| Slovenia | Netflix €5.99 |
| South Korea | Watcha, Tving ₩10900 |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK, Max 149 kr SEK |
| Türkiye | Max |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
The Father runs 97 minutes and dismantles your ability to trust the screen. Florian Zeller directs a performance by Anthony Hopkins that feels less like acting and more like a controlled demolition of certainty. As the protagonist’s mind shifts, the familiar apartment rearranges itself, and the people in it change faces. It is a tight, claustrophobic drama that makes the audience complicit in the confusion. You are not watching a character suffer from dementia; you are experiencing the disorientation of not knowing who you are. It is a quiet, devastating piece of work.
What the critics said
Critics didn’t just like it; they were stunned. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 98% with an average rating of 8.7/10. Metacritic lands on 88/100, a score indicating universal acclaim. The consensus is clear: it is a devastatingly empathetic portrayal of dementia. Anthony Hopkins received widespread acclaim for his performance, winning his second Academy Award for Best Actor at age 83. He became the oldest Best Actor winner. Owen Gleiberman noted the film places us in the mind of someone losing his mind. Benjamin Lee called Hopkins’s work astounding and heartbreaking. The film takes a subtle look at encroaching dementia. It is a penetrating work that marks an outstanding directorial debut.
How it did with audiences
The Father cost $20 million and took in $25 million worldwide. That is a loss on paper, though one’s definition of "paper" matters here. In the United States, it earned $2 million, while France and the United Kingdom pulled in $5 million and $3 million, respectively. On TMDB, users rate it 8.1 out of 10. IMDb users gave it an 8.2/10 as of May 2026. The numbers suggest audiences preferred the confusion to the accounting.
Awards
It took home 5 awards from 10 nominations, a respectable haul for a film about forgetting. Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar. Florian Zeller also brought home the Adapted Screenplay statuette. Christopher Hampton and Hopkins picked up European Film Awards, while the film added a César for Best Foreign Film to its shelf.
What came next for the cast
Anthony Hopkins traded Thor for The Son and Locked. Olivia Colman went from Hot Fuzz to Heartstopper and Wonka. Mark Gatiss moved from Sherlock to the Mission: Impossible franchise. These are distinct trajectories. The credits do not link them to The Father. They simply mark what followed.
Where it left its mark
Critic lists keep circling back to it. Time Out placed it at number 93 on its 2022 count of the century's best films, noting it captures dementia as a world stripped of signposts. Collider ranked it number 2 on its 2023 list of 2020s dramas, praising how the director shows memory loss through the victim's eyes. That same outlet later put it at number 27 on its all-time drama list, arguing few films handle the condition with such power. Looper’s 2024 ranking of it at number 42 among PG-13 films suggested mainstream horror could take a cue from its consistent eeriness. It makes the familiar feel frighteningly other.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Father.
Sources
- The Father on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q65066669 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Father (2020 film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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