User reviews

Based strictly on content, "Fathers & Daughters" is not the type of movie I would usually see. However, after watching the trailer and seeing the star power of Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, and Aaron Paul, I decided to give it a try. While the plot of this film can be a bit shaky at times, one almost doesn't realize it because the quality of the acting invokes such strong emotions all the way through.

For a basic plot summary, "Fathers & Daughters" opens with writer Jake Davis (Crowe) struggling to cope with his life after the loss of his wife in a car accident. Fortunately, he still has his lovely daughter Katie (Kylie Rogers), but even that is threatened when his seizures and medical problems begin. Flash-forward 20-some years later, and Katie (Seyfried) has grown up to become a successful social worker...who is also as promiscuous as they come in terms of love life. However, when a new little girl named Lucy (Quvenzhane Wallis) is put in her care, and then Katie meets Cameron (Paul), she begins to be confronted by the demons in her life that have caused her so much pain.

I wish I could say that "Fathers & Daughters" is a "best of all-time" type of movie, but the fact is that it isn't. The writers/producers/director make some head-scratching choices about how they play the narrative out, and there are a few key plot points missing that probably needed to be included to make this a "tighter" film. So, this is really more of a "niche" film built on emotion.

But boy oh boy, though, does that niche ever get filled perfectly here! I'm not usually one to get overly emotional during a film-watching experience (at least visually), but "Fathers & Daughters" moved me to tears on a few occasions. It truly is that powerful of a film, as it deals primarily with the relationship between a father and daughter (something that isn't always seen in these types of films). It would have been very, very easy for this film to turn into a typical tearjerker, as all the elements for it are indeed present. Fortunately, although not without a few hiccups along the way, it ends up producing natural instead of contrived emotions, which I have a great deal of respect for. All the emotional moments in the movie feel earned.

In large part, I believe that is due to the incredible acting performances in the flick. It has been awhile since I've seen a movie where every performance was this spot-on. Crowe really commits (and when that happens, he's always golden), Seyfried is (as usual) perfect for her role, and Paul is absolutely killing every role he takes these days. Even the youngsters, Wallis and especially Rogers, bring the emotion perfectly.

So, while "Fathers & Daughters" may not rise to elite heights due to a few storytelling difficulties, it has more than enough acting and emotion to be a solid film. It uncommonly moved me during my viewing of it, and I will always remember the experience because of it. Even if this doesn't look like your "cup of tea", you may want to give it a chance, as more than likely you'll be moved as well.

Fathers And Daughters: A movie that would have made me book the first flight home without waiting for holidays if I still lived overseas. I mean it. Yes, I'm a "daddy's girl", and I've been lucky enough to enjoy this beautiful movie with my father (well, my mum and brother were there too, but dad was a 'must' from what I'd heard about the film). As one can easily guess after seeing the trailer, it's a touching piece, and the cast does a great job in reflecting the story on screen. Gabriele Muccino delivers the plot with a non-cliché flow, he's very successful with the flashbacks, and one of the strongest aspects of F & D is the amazingly beautiful music, in my opinion. Particularly the Carpenter's cover by Michael Bolton, Close To You adds so much, not to mention that it squeezes your heart during a particular scene. Speaking of heart-squeezing, I think Russell Crowe has made a habit of making his audience cry, especially with The Water Diviner and now, with Fathers and Daughters. As expected, he does not just act, he 'becomes' Jake Davis, and forms multiple lumps in your throat with the character he portrays. As one of the best actors of our time, if not the very best, he's simply amazing. Also, the chemistry between R. Crowe and Kylie Anne Rogers is great, it's heart-warming and so 'real', if I may say so. Kylie Anne is the sweetest potato chip, that goes without saying, and I need to add that at some point I did hate Bruce Greenwood and Diane Kruger.. well, not them, but the characters they played, of course. Needless to say, Jane Fonda was one of the shining stars of F & D, and I think Amanda Seyfried and Aaron Paul were well-chosen for their respective roles, *thumbs up* to them both. Taken together, I loved the story, it was beautifully transformed into a tear-jerker on screen, and I sincerely hope this movie gets released in every country -because it's a sweet piece of art which reminds you of the most important and valuable things in life. PS: Keep tissues nearby when you're seeing F & D. Am not kidding.

"That's what this book is really about, it's about me." Jake Davis (Crowe) is a famous author who as just lost his wife and now he is in a fight to keep his daughter Katie (Seyfried). While trying to write a book that hill become a best seller he is trying to pay off lawyers in order to keep his wife's sister from taking his girl. Katie, all grown up now, is struggling to maintain a normal relationship. One of the books her father wrote as an impact on both their lives. This is a fantastic movie, and also one of the most emotional films I have seen in a long time. It may be because I am a father myself but I really got emotionally invested in this and found myself holding back tears over and over. Crowe does a perfect job of trying to balance being a father with trying to do everything he can to save his girl. Seyfried gives maybe the best performance she has ever given and is very believable as someone who has lost her way and doesn't know how to be happy and "normal". This is a movie I could go on and on about but I will just say watch this and you will feel the same way I did. Overall, emotionally powerful and gripping. Crowe and Seyfired give the best performances of their career. I highly recommend this, but be ready to cry. I give this an A-.

If you come away praising only one thing from this movie, I'd be willing to bet that it would be Kylie Rogers' performance as Russell Crowe's young daughter. She gives a genuinely affecting performance for a girl her age and although Crowe himself needs no help here as he puts in a brilliant showing of his own, he's all the better for her presence. They played off each other so well and the film was much more enjoyable whenever they shared the screen. Amanda Seyfried was her dependable self but this kind of role is easily within her wheelhouse so don't expect to be blown away by her.

The film itself has a nice flow to it when considering the run time and although it dips into the cliché pot a couple of times, I found the screenplay just fresh enough that I would say I enjoyed it overall. Although the directing wasn't anything to write home about I do believe that he showed a delicate and subtle handling of the subject matter which is to be commended. The score is also quite wonderful.

Overall, a solid 7/10. The performances are the reason to see this one.

Fathers and Daughters is an entertaining film that at many times will have you reaching for the tissue box. The film mainly revolves around Katie a young woman who struggles to form any real relationships in her life. The film moves between her childhood to present day throughout the film. Some movie goers find this annoying, however I thought this added to the film and was done well. On the downside, there were times when some scenes didn't need to be there and this resulted in the film ending rather abruptly instead of exploring deeper issues which I feel viewers would have responded well too. Overall, a good watch but not a 'must see'.

This film tells the story of a successful writer who loses his wife in a car crash. He struggles with mental health and physical health issues, in addition to the challenges of taking care for his eight year old daughter.

The story is surely going to touch many people, as it contains most tear jerking elements that exist in the world. A little girl losing her mother, a writer who struggles in every facet of his life and a woman who is afraid of love. I can relate to some of these characters, and I have friends who are just like some characters in the film. The characters appears to be like ones in real life I connect with them and I can feel their pain. The presence of many great actors and actresses is also a big bonus. I wonder if this is a film based on a true story.

I anticipated an emotional tale from the director who is quite famous for it, and yes, it was, but not as I was looking for, yet I still liked it for portraying a beautiful father-daughter relationship. It was not like all about the happy scenarios, but it began with a tragedy and then moved to narrate a father who struggles to provide a better life for her daughter when his health was getting worse every day. In another layer, the story focused on the grown up daughter who struggles as well, but to get close to the people which affected since her childhood days with her father.

Russell Crowe played an energetic father like he was in his 30s, especially when he shows the affections to his daughter. The little girl who played the daughter role as well so fantastic. The disappointment was as usual Amanda Seyfried like any of her movies. I like her as a human being, no offense but not as an actress. Apart from her portions, it is not a bad movie.

It was about one father and one daughter, but the title was plural. You should see the movie that has a simple explanation for it. The girl and her father's story should have been the entire movie. With some catchy moments between them would have made it an awesome product. As expected the end was emotional, and another layer's end was terrible which was obviously Seyfried's. I wanted to like it, but I can't. This movie would bring a mixed response that you can't decide whether you liked it or not, but mostly you might respond positively.

7/10

"A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own."

I literally have no words for this movie (and I should be writing like 10 lines, right). This kind of love, father's love and the power of Katie's pain when she's standing next to that jukebox...That can't be described. I cried my eyes out, because I will never be ready when that moment comes, in real life. The song in the end was just an outstanding finishing. Summary: Haven't seen better and scarier movie in a long time.

Greetings from Lithuania.

Fathers and Daughters" (2015) is a movie with superb cast, one of the best ensemble of actors in recent memory. All of them did a good job. Directing was also solid, as cinematography, settings. I liked the story, which is kinda beautiful and inspiring. But on the other hand this movie needed a better script. The are like 4 stories in this movie actually, but not one of them is very engaging. Script was sometimes cheeze - i wanted to roll my eyes over the screen, but great actors managed to say some lines with straight faces. It tries to have some moving moments, which unfortunately didn't moved me. It is a very good looking movie and while it lasted i enjoyed, but after it was over i know i will forget this movie very quickly, i doesn't have lasting impression.

Overall, "Fathers and Daughters" is a nice and enjoyable movie which could have been great with more tight script. It's running time 1 h 50 min can be sometimes draggy, because some story lines like with the little girl which finally gets adopted didn't work. But overall this is very nice movie for one evening. By the way i was shocked when i learned it was rated R. Trust me there a lot of movies which should have been rated R instead of this one. This is sometimes beautiful movie but kinda empty.

Russell Crowe is brilliant in this, he plays an amazing Father and is incredibly humble throughout despite the horrendous events that happen in his life.

The little girl is also wonderful, her acting is impeccable.

It's the perfect story of a Father & Daughter relationship.

BUT.

The ending is utterly appalling. It will leave you reeling with anger, as it completely destroys this whole amazing movie.

It shouldn't have happened. If this had gone the RIGHT way it would've been a perfect 10.

What a shame.

There is a special bond between fathers and daughters. So far so good, but what if that's all that is left for both? Can they be apart? And what does happen, when they have to (for medical reasons)? Also where does that lead our main character down the stretch? There are a lot of questions that are open, though I do believe that one of them will be easy to answer for most when looking at the character Amanda S. portrays and how she acts and reacts to certain situations.

There is no nudity, but the MPAA deemed the not graphic depicted intercourse scenes (a couple and shouldn't be a reason to watch this) to be enough for an "R" rating. While the viewer will connect the dots and understand why those scenes are necessary (especially because we don't linger upon them), the movie tries to keep it mysterious all the way through. I don't think that part works that good, but the movie is more than decent enough especially because of the performances

Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfriend, and Aaron Paul do a fantastic job with the sorrowful story of a father and daughter and the relationships their within. Several other reviews call for boxes and boxes of tissues. I did not have that experience at all. How this did not get more nominations escapes me.

After his wife's death, Russell Crowe can't cope with being a single father. He may be a beloved successful writer, but he has deep psychological problems. Twenty-five years later, his daughter Amanda Seyfried is getting her masters in psychology and volunteering at a children's center. The film cuts back and forth between the past and the present, and while normally I don't like those types of movies, Fathers & Daughters is an exception.

For some unknown reason, this film was completely ignored during awards season, even though the acting is phenomenal and Brad Desch's script is powerful. Russell Crowe gives the type of performance that is deserving of an Oscar, but he didn't even get a nomination. He hasn't shown off his acting chops like this in over ten years. Kylie Rogers plays his little girl, and her performance in the film is incredible and heart-wrenching. I hope she has a marvelous career as she grows up; child actresses with that much talent are hard to find. Amanda Seyfried branches out of her teen image, and is very convincing as a young adult with lots of problems. And before you judge her too harshly, remember it's just her character. Her unlikability isn't really her fault.

This is a very heavy movie, so get out your Kleenexes and have the pause button ready; you'll need to take a couple of breaks and have a good cry. I watched it with my mom, but anyone brave enough to watch it with her dad will probably shed twice as many tears. Rent it, though, even if you need to watch it by yourself. It's worth it.

Three days have passed, I am still crying. The story is one of those that just live with you forever. Russel Crow proved once again that he is the best of the best. Amanda is as always great. A deep profound love between father and daughter that carries her through out her life. The love that she cannot live without. Love that she cannot ever let go. Love that gives her strength to go on and that same love drags her down the void.

Up til 12 mins left it was very good. After that, not so much. The end was incomplete to say the least.

This movie really got me thinking about what priorities are in life. It got me pretty emotional too because I've identified myself in Katie but in Jake as well. It's hard filling up the void inside yourself and you do wrong actions to make it right. You know so well it's wrong but there's nothing you can do about it, you have to live with it until you figure out your whole life, literally. Everyone's got their own ways of dealing and avoiding but they are rarely working. We don't see help coming right at us because we are too occupied with our problems, that's what makes things worse. When we manage to confront ourselves, we realize that we have been missing out great things that were surrounding us the whole time but we were unable to see it. I love it how the movie has bigger meaning and a real impact on my standings. I realize how selfish we are (including myself) for not cherishing the moments we have, just like Jake did, because you never know when it will be over.

Jake, a notable novelist, stays at a hospital to heal a mental breakdown due to his wife dying of a car crash by his driving. This leads him to live separately with his beloved little daughter, Katy, for 7 months. After getting older, traumatized Katy is in a trouble with loving people. Then, she meets up a man who admires Jake's novel, Cameron…

This film is confusing at first because the story goes on back and force. Yet, this is like a riddle and a key to ambiguous scenes by degrees. At the same time, the film is beyond words and it is literally hard to hold back tears. In particular, Jake's struggling of both taking care of Katy and writing a novel simultaneously is described. This makes me think better of what my father has done to me in a daily life positively.

I was wondering why the title "Fathers and Daughters" is plural. If this story is just related to Jake and Katy, this should be singular title "Father and Daughter". In my opinion, this story conveys a message to us to value family bond more and more in general.

In addition, seemingly the film is about father and daughter story, but Katy's love story is included. Keep an eye on the film!

I think if not for the great actors and what they bring to the film this film would have been quite unknown. It tries to suck you in straight away with a great tragedy but storyline seems inconsistent and far fetched