Rent The Good Father (1985)
3.2 of 5 from 51 ratings
1h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Hooper (Anthony Hopkins) is a man seething with anger. His wife (Harriet Walter) has divorced him. He is permitted one day a week with his child. Fifteen years ago, he was an outspoken advocate of women's liberation, and now, he feels, he is a victim of the women's movement - a man without rights. At a party one night, he meets a man whose ex-wife has just announced her plans to leave for Australia with their child and with her lesbian lover. Hooper is galvanized. He persuades the man to sue for custody, supplies legal costs out of his own pocket and becomes obsessed with his belief that the women's movement has created a wave of discrimination against men. A very rare film that asks hard and fundamental questions about the role of men: such as, is it ever too late for a man to learn that he can never love himself until he first learns to love somebody else? - Actors:
- Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Frances Viner, Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes, Joanne Whalley, Michael Byrne, Jennie Stoller, Johanna Kirby, Stephen Fry, Clifford Rose, Harry Grubb, Tom Jamieson
- Directors:
- Mike Newell
- Producers:
- Ann Scott, Christopher Hampton
- Writers:
- Peter Prince, Christopher Hampton
- Studio:
- Guerilla Films
- Genres:
- Drama
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Reviews (1) of The Good Father
A film which tries to ask difficult questions, but also is filled with extremely unsympathetic roles - The Good Father review by TB
This is an interesting film, made in 1985, way before Hopkins became famous for Hannibal Lector.
Bill is a father who has gone through a horrific divorce and is now allowed only short visits with his son. As someone who used to be an outspoken advocate for women's rights and empowerment, he has now been burned by the system he supported so virulently, turning in completely the opposite direction. But he is also a man who has significant wealth and when he meets a man going through a messy divorce due to his wife coming out as a lesbian, Bill sees a chance to "get even" using another man's pain which his wealth can potentially heal.
The biggest issue with this film, which obviously when looking back close to 40 years later shows how much times have changed, is how unbelievably homophobic it is. Roger's wife, who reveals she wants a divorce and is gay, is never treated as anything less than an absolute pariah and demonic figure. The scenes where her suitability for raising her child due to her sexual orientation is held up for ridicule are particularly revolting. There is however one ace the film has up it's sleeve which I hope was done deliberately and as a way to satirise this narrative: there are an enormous number of LGBTQI actors cast in the roles; Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Frances Viner and most memorable of all, Simon Callow.
As much as it does pose some interesting questions however, it never really transcends it's television film status. There is quite a soapy feel to a lot of it, although it is a solid piece of drama.
For me, the most powerful thing of all is quite simply that it shows how far we have come as a society from then to now. It should be a matter of huge pride that in a UK courtroom today, no-one would even think of referring to or treating someone of a different sexuality the way that some of the characters are treated. Thank God we have moved on from that way of thinking.
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