Come to Daddy tells of a person who, after not having seen his father for a long time, was invited by his father to his remote home near the beach. Norval (Elijah Wood), with his suitcase and a haircut that is like a bowl and with a mustache, must pass through the lush forest to meet his father’s house.
After arriving home he said “Looks like a UFO from 1980,” he meets his father, Brian (Stephen McHattie). Initially his father was happy to welcome the arrival of Norval, especially since they had not seen him for at least 30 years or when Norval was a child. Best Movie Site
But the longer the interaction between the two, the sourer, which began with Norval lying to his father that he knew Elton John only to impress his father. His father found out that Norval lied, and finally the two of them began to distrust each other. Not only Brian who felt distrustful of his son, so also with Norval who felt that his father might be hiding something.
For a thriller, this works because the distrust of both of them eventually causes Norval to continue to find out what Brian actually did so far and what he kept from him. Not only is their curiosity interesting to follow, so is the interaction of the two.
Before watching this film, I saw that Come to Daddy was labeled as a thriller comedy, and this film was indeed clever in providing its dark humor. His dark humor usually comes from how clumsy the relationship between Norval and his father is, even to the point where the two don’t trust each other.
Yes, this film is indeed smart because the longer we follow Norval in the search for truth, the more eccentric the story goes. The film continues to change genres, from dark comedy to thriller and even horror, but still can be controlled by Ant Timpson and does not feel too excited or illogical and this is what makes the movie Come to Daddy successful.
Not only is he really good at controlling the story line, but also this film works because it feels very minimalist. Almost all films are told at Norval’s father’s house, starting from the beginning until three-quarters of our films are in the beach house. Just telling his unique story in one location does help make the story more organized and not cluttered. Movie Review
Also, how few characters appear in the film help to make the story more intimate and simple. And only Norval, played innocently by The Lord of the Ring actor Elijah Wood, who consistently appears from beginning to end. Besides him, maybe some characters appear in only half the film, and this indeed feels right because we are interested in Norval and his mission to uncover the secrets of his father.
If only the other characters appear too often, it will only interfere with the nuance of “curiosity” that comes from Norval, and we will even disappear our curiosity from the character Norval who really wants to know what is hidden by his father. For movies that last only 90 minutes, there are still some scenes that are too long on Come to Daddy where some of the scenes are long in duration but not much happens. But the shortcomings can still be covered by how eccentric the story has, even when we already know something, this film can still surprise the audience. Top Movie
From beginning to end, we are treated to stories that might not be for all. The story that starts at point A but ends at point Z, but the journey in this film feels very exciting to see, with dark humor, part of the thriller that is indeed tense and some feel dark, and ends with a film cover that is unexpectedly very sweet and heartbreaking . This is a film with a mood that is like a roller coaster.