The Good Father (1985)

Bill is a man who's very bitter about his divorce and losing custody of his son. So, when one of his friends is being sued for divorce by hiw wife so that she can enter a lesbian ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Peter Prince (novel), Christopher Hampton (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Bill Hooper
Jim Broadbent	...	Roger Miles
Harriet Walter	...	Emmy Hooper
Frances Viner	...	Cheryl Langford
Simon Callow	...	Mark Varda
Miriam Margolyes	...	Jane Powell
Joanne Whalley	...	Mary Hall
Michael Byrne	...	Leonard Scruby
Jennie Stoller	...	Bill's friend
Johanna Kirby	...	Bill's friend
Stephen Fry	...	Creighton
Clifford Rose	...	Judge
Harry Grubb	...	Bill's son
Tom Jamieson	...	Roger's son

Storyline

Bill is a man who's very bitter about his divorce and losing custody of his son. So, when one of his friends is being sued for divorce by hiw wife so that she can enter a lesbian relationship, Bill decides to help his friend gain custody of his son...in any way that they can devise, including using a sleazeball lawyer. But while Bill feels that Feminism has robbed him of his family, he begins to be appalled at what he and Roger have done.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | custody | lawyer | feminism | lesbian relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

A jó apa

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$421,201 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Greenpoint Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original negative of the film was damaged during post production which resulted in the poor quality of all theatrical release prints.

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Quotes

Leonard Scruby: Now, this is your affidavit, Mr Miles. It sets out your reason for applying for care and control.
Mark Varda: Should be alright. Bound to be, really. Can always rely on Kirby Smith for a genuinely reactionary decision.

User Reviews

A unique look at fatherhood

Before Silence of the Lambs made him a "movie star," Anthony Hopkins turned in a number of intelligent and nuanced performances. The Good Father is one of them. For one thing, it is the only movie I know of that hints at the impulse to filicide, unwilled, by no means perverse, but nevertheless the acknowledgment that one's child has contributed to one's doom. It comes to Hopkins' character in dreams. They disturb him terribly. One should simply not feel like that.

But in the picture's very last shot, a flashback, where Hopkins watches his wife stroke her swollen stomach with tears streaming from her eyes, it becomes clear that the child will become and has become the end of them. "You were the love of my life," he tells her after the child is born and they are separated.

Paralelling his own situation is another Brit's. Hopkins takes up with a man who is distraught because his wife has left him (for another woman) and is planning to take their son. Hopkins' character supports and subsidizes his new friend in his efforts to beat this man's wife in court. The man wins, compromises out of court with his wife to see his son, and spurns Hopkins' purported help with contempt. Hopkins loses.

A superb study of a rarely looked at human complexity.