YMMV / The Father

• Award Snub: Many fans were upset at Florian Zeller missing out on the director lineup at all major ceremonies. He did, however, manage to pick up a very deserving Oscar for his screenplay alongside Christopher Hampton.
• Fandom Rivalry: While no one is saying that Anthony Hopkins was undeserving, the fact that Best Actor was the last award to be announced during the Oscars led many to believe that the late Chadwick Boseman was going to win for his work on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. When this didn't happen, many questioned the point of rearranging the awards, and it made it seem that the Academy was banking on a Boseman victory.
• Paranoia Fuel: Locations, things, even people keep changing around Anthony. You'd be paranoid, too.
• Jerkass Woobie: Anthony is rude to Laura, who's just trying her best, is heavily implied to be a profound misogynist, and not only does he do little to hide how Anne isn't his favorite daughter, he explicitly says so right in front of her. But seeing him break down and cry multiple times in the movie is extremely hard to watch. Despite the suffering that his condition brings upon others, it's clear that Anthony's dementia has caused him just as much misery, and the fact that he can't overcome it is nothing short of tragic.
  • It's also notably left very ambiguous how much of Anthony's Jerkass behaviour, moodswings and blunt favouritism towards Lucy are purely a result of his mental degeneration rather than any underlying personality flaws. In two moments where he seems fully lucid, his behaviour is far more pleasant and kind. He gives Anne a genuine fatherly compliment on her appearance and later sincerely thanks her "for everything." The fact Anne cares about him so deeply also implies that he must have been a loving and attentive father throughout his life prior to the onset of his dementia.
• Nightmare Fuel: Much of the film as it shows Anthony's steady mental decline from his own point of view and lets us see up close just how devastating a condition Alzheimer's really is. Some have even gone as far as to say the film is closer to a horror film than a drama.
• No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Despite the drama that came from Anthony Hopkins' Oscar win, the surprise victory got a lot of people to look at the film who previously hadn't, resulting in even more acclaim for his work. It helps that most of the hate from the Oscars ceremony has gone towards the producers for pandering to Chadwick Boseman's fans in a way that didn't pay off at all, rather than Hopkins, who handled the situation with class and paid tribute to Boseman, whose family made an official statement saying they didn't find his loss to be a snub.
• Tear Jerker: Let's just say to seriously avoid this movie if you've recently experienced a loved one in this situation. There's Anthony breaking down crying when the Man hits him, Anthony's dream of Lucy's death (which he can't remember happening in the waking world), and the final scene where Anthony cries and begs for his mother to take him home as he admits to his terror over his condition.
• The Woobie: Poor Anne. Her beloved father is deteriorating and failing to recognize her, but there's little she can do to help him. The scene where she has to put him in a facility is downright depressing, especially when he pitifully asks why he's being left all alone and demands to see her (deceased) sister Lucy since he misses her, causing Anne to tear up as she says "we all miss her."

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