A very well made dark comedy, Come to Daddy tells a tale of deception and chaos as one man finds himself confronting a situation that just doesn’t seem right. Nicely directed by first timer Ant Timpson who captures the story with exemplary acting by Elijah Wood, Ronald Plum and Stephen McHattie. The storyline does get somewhat predictable early on, but it doesn’t ruin the wacky tale that reminded me of films like Fargo and Seven Psychopaths. Get your hands on a copy of the Blu-ray or DVD and slide the disc into your player for a night of “What the Heck?”
Twenty-something Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood) shows up on the doorstep of his father’s house as his request via a recent letter. Curious to see him, he had left his mother when Norval was a 5-year-old and it’s been about 30 years since he disappeared. Impressed that he lives in a secluded house overlooking a bay his first thoughts are that maybe he can convince the man to start a father and son relationship. Greeted by Gordon Greenwood (Stephen McHattie) he can see that age has not been kind to him, but never-the-less what happened in the past really should stay there.
Cold and offsetting at times, Gordon keeps nagging at Norval on silly things until their relationship takes a dire turn. When Gordon turns violent, the film becomes a nightmare that’s only beginning to take shape. First time Director and many times producer, Ant Timpson gets to the point of the film early on. He then starts to twist the knife in the fast moving plot that becomes more of a comedy of errors changing a relationship gone badly into a psychopathic revenge. This is where the film starts to entertain in a big way. At each unexpected twist and turn the audience starts to find out the what, why, where and how of it all, and it’s a zinger.
This is one of Elijah Wood’s (Lord of the Rings) best opportunities to show he can create a character that goes from plain and Inquisitive to a guy in the wrong place at an awful time. His Norval has to try and convince his long lost dad, that he could jump start a relationship he never had. He then has to find a way out of the mess that follows. Spot on, Wood’s performance is extremely good and saves the film with a close to perfect rating. It’s totally worth the watch.
As Gordon, Stephen McHattie (Watchmen) brings a nice cranky touch to his character. At first he seems disturbed by the Norval’s visit, but then makes him feel at home. As he delves into the past, things start to get dicey for the two of them leading to a conflict that can’t be resolved. His grouchy personality starts to make Norval wonder about his visit and their mockery starts to get out of hand.
The funniest performance comes from Garfield Wilson as local Police Officer Ronald Plum who comes to investigate the 911 call from Norval. Suspicious of the young man, his interrogation is completely off the wall. It’s a very good change of pace by director Ant Timpson and it works to break up the serious with a lot of laughter.
Come to Daddy has been rated R By the MPAA for strong violence, language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity. Not recommended for the squeamish and should not be shown to immature children or you will have a lot of explaining to do.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nicely produced dark comedy now on home video. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Garfield Wilson, Madeline Sami, Martin Donovan, Michael smiley, Simon Chin Directed by: Ant Timpson Genre: Dark Comedy, Thriller MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min. Video Release Date: March 24, 2020 Language: English Reviewed Format: DVD Audio: Dolby Audio 5.1 Video: 16×9 Aspect Ratio 2.39:1 Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Distributed by: Lionsgate Released on: Blu-ray, DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
