This was the fiftieth anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) and the caliber of the films shown this year was better than ever. There were three films I saw this year that all dealt with the theme of the bad father. These films are Sentimental Value, & Sons, and The Christophers. All three films were fascinating and each was notably different from the other, creating a wonderful variety of perspectives on the “bad dad.”
I found it particularly interesting that older fathers of adult children figured so prominently this year; especially since older women were featured in last year’s TIFF line-up. One wonders if the programmers did this deliberately or if it was unconscious on their part. At any rate, it was a lot of fun watching three different versions of bad dads. Each of them was bad in their own unique way and offered a fresh and thought-provoking take on the theme.
Sentimental Value
The first film I saw at TIFF this year was Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier and starring Stellan Skarsgård.
In this film, Skarsgård plays a rather self-obsessed film director, Gustav Borg, who is estranged from his two adult daughters. He tries to mend fences by enlisting his daughters in his new film project, but neither of them are willing to join in. After years of dealing with his selfish and hurtful behaviour, they don’t trust him, and they are both carrying a degree of anger and resentment toward him. Gustav believes that there is healing through art, but his daughters initially resist his overtures.
His older daughter, Agnes, played by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, is guarded and stiff around her father and refuses to let him use her young son in his new project, in part because of her own experiences with him as a young actress. His younger daughter, Nora, played by Renate Reinsve, is an actor who is dealing with significant emotional issues including paralyzing stage fright. She, more than her sister, harbours deep rage for their father. Both women carry the wounds of their father’s abandonment.
Ultimately, we learn the cause of Gustav’s behaviour. He has been dealing with his own legacy of trauma; wounds that arose at the time of the Second World War. As the film progresses, it becomes evident that what Gustav went through as a child has powerfully affected his ability to connect with people, even including his own family members. As the film unfolds, we develop more compassion for Gustav and we begin to root for him in his attempts to reunite his broken family and heal their collective trauma.
& Sons
The film, & Sons, directed by Pablo Trapero, and written by Trapero and Sarah Polley, shows a very different kind of father. Here, Bill Nighy plays Andrew Dyer, a famous writer. He’s a wealthy man; living in a mansion in the country with his youngest son, Andy, played by Noah Jupe. Unfortunately, Dyer is such a toxic narcissist that he has alienated everyone, including his long-suffering wife, Isabel, played by Imelda Staunton, and his two adult sons, played by Dominic West and Johnny Flynn. The only people who are still willing to be around him are Andy and Dyer’s housekeeper, Gerd, played by Anna Geislerová.
Dyer is a case study in self-indulgence and self-destructiveness. He drinks himself into oblivion each day and lives in squalor, despite his obvious wealth and fame. He walks around, unkempt, in pajamas and a bathrobe, ranting about nothing and unable to do any meaningful work. His younger son is bemused by his behaviour, while his older sons are at best, ambivalent toward him, and at worst, enraged by his inability or unwillingness to care about them.
The circumstances around the birth of Dyer’s youngest son are shrouded in mystery. He allowed his marriage to break up over this child, and didn’t seem to care about the fallout of his actions. As the secrets surrounding Andy’s birth are gradually revealed, it becomes even clearer how his third son represents Dyer’s narcissistic entitlement and self-delusion; with him assuming a degree of relevance in the world that was never there.
While the film falls apart in its last quarter, it remains a fascinating study in narcissistic fatherhood and how tremendously damaging it can be to a child to be raised by such a monster.
The Christophers
The last film in this trilogy, The Christophers, is directed by Steven Soderberg. The dad here is a once-celebrated visual artist, Julian Sklar, played by Ian McKellen. Julian hasn’t painted in many years, but it is unclear why not. Sklar’s children, played by James Corden and Jessica Gunning, hate him and want nothing more than to rip him off.
They intend to hire Lori Butler, played by Michaela Coel, as a fake assistant for their dad. She’s a talented artist who no longer shows her work. The plan is to have her complete a series of unfinished paintings of Julian’s former lover, Christopher, with the intention that Lori and Julian’s children will share in the profits.
As the film progresses, we discover the reason why Julian has stopped painting. He was selfish and insensitive to others and his actions backfired on him. We also learn why Lori no longer shows her work and why she has accepted the offer to take advantage of Julian.
It becomes clear that this man has caused a lot of hurt to everyone around him. It’s understandable why his children are furious with him and want to screw him over. Still, despite herself, Lori is able to see, and perhaps bring out a different side of Julian, and in the end, Lori takes charge of the narrative, going with her own version of the plan.
As a father, Julian has failed his two biological children, but through his interactions with Lori, he is able to learn something about himself and make some positive changes. He is able to have a better relationship with Lori than he ever had with his own kids.
Films about fathers are not uncommon, but it was refreshing to see three films about older fathers and particularly bad ones, at the Toronto International Film Festival® this year. I very much enjoyed experiencing the trope of the bad dad in these three unique and interesting portrayals. I hope you get a chance to see these films and to experience these bad dads in action.
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