“We’ve too much baggage.”
A Loving Father is an examination of a famous writer’s not-so-great attempt at fatherhood. French writer Leo Shepherd (Gerard Depardieu) is selected to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. He decides to take his motorbike on the 1200-mile journey to Stockholm for the presentation ceremony, and tells his sullen, neurotic daughter Virginia (Sylvie Testud) to take the plane and join him there. Virginia obviously doesn’t like the plan. According to her, she manages Leo–organises his work, does most of the PR etc. In reality, Virginia’s relationship with her father resembles that of a dog with a bone–she’s possessive, and she won’t share. While Leo packs to leave, his estranged son, Paul (real life son Guillaume Depardieu) telephones to offer his congratulations, but Virginia will not allow Paul to speak to their father.
Paul intercepts Leo on the road to Stockholm. It seems as though Paul would be content with just a few crumbs from his dad, but even that’s hard to extract from this surly, selfish individual. Paul doesn’t take rejection well and when an opportunity arises, he grabs his father and forces Leo to spend time in his company.
A Loving Father explores some interesting themes. For example, having a famous parent may be a trying experience–especially if the children are less successful than the parent. Do we expect the same standards of human behaviour from the brilliant, or do we accept less? Specifically, how much does the fact that Leo is a Nobel Prize winning author contribute to his problem, or is he just a revolting, pathetic excuse for a father? After watching Virginia’s nastiness and then hearing about Paul’s drug addiction, there’s a budding sympathy for Leo. This sympathy vanishes without a trace once Leo opens his mouth and spews forth hatred to his children. Flashback scenes show exactly what sort of father Leo was, and it isn’t pretty. Unfortunately, while the film includes some decent acting, the story leaves the viewer with nothing to hang onto. Paul’s pathetic need for some sort of acknowledgement is difficult to watch, and Virginia’s hysterical scenes call for therapy and medication. Leo, Paul and Virginia make a toxic combination, and quite frankly they shouldn’t be allowed in the same room together. I could have done without Virginia’s prolonged bathroom scene and the silly dead body fantasy. After the gut-wrenching emotional roller coaster ride of a plot, the film’s ending–which seems mixed with shades of the Razor’s Edge–was absurdly optimistic and completely ridiculous. In French with English subtitles, from director Jacob Berger
