Posted on Fri, Jun. 20, 2008

Based on the memoir by British writer Blake Morrison, When Did You Last See Your Father? uses its title to pose a penetrating question. When did you last see the man when he was himself -- not sick, not fading but healthy and vibrant? How you answer largely determines how you will respond to this gloomy little movie, which is frustratingly stagnant at times but ultimately a moving story about a dying father and the son who must come to terms with him.

Colin Firth plays pouty son Blake, an award-winning poet who has never quite forgiven his genial but often crass dad Arthur (Jim Broadbent) for a series of slights. These include, but are not limited to, Arthur's playing jokes on him, disdaining his profession and, possibly, years before, carrying on an affair not quite behind the back of Blake's mother (Juliet Stevenson). Arthur is a scamming back-slapper, the sort of hale fellow people tend to like immediately but whose pushy exuberance wears thin on close contact. Blake just about trembles with indignation in his presence.

Director Anand Tucker (Shopgirl, Hilary and Jackie) gets excellent work from Oscar winner Broadbent (Iris) as Arthur, before and after he's diagnosed with cancer, and Matthew Beard does a nice, awkward job of conveying the teenage Blake's barely suppressed fury in the film's flashbacks. But the adult Blake is such a pill it's hard not to think: Get over yourself, man. You've won an award; you've got a nice wife and kids. You're 40 years old at least. Isn't it time to stop being peeved because you didn't get the dad you wanted?

It's not entirely Firth's fault that Blake is so mopey; he's constantly framed in gloom, and he's not given much to do except look tortured. Tucker is also a little too fond of double-image mirror shots. But the film ends on a lovely, graceful, simple moment, one that will stick with you, especially if you've had occasion to give the title question some thought.

Cast: Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Matthew Beard.

Director: Anand Tucker.

Screenwriter: David Nicholls. Based on the book by Blake Morrison.

Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley.

A Sony Pictures Classics release. Running time: 92 minutes. Sexual content, thematic material, brief strong language. Playing: In Miami-Dade: Palace.