Post by Lady Idril on May 6, 2006 16:34:43 GMT -5
Perhaps it's the blend of well-comprehended performances, a genuinely heartwarming story, and the melancholic landscapes that grace Glasgow’s shores that provide such a sweet reverie for anyone watching this movie, but whatever it is, Dear Frankie works.
Frankie Morrison (Jack McElhone) is a deaf boy of nine (and-a-half) years who knows his father only by letter. Frankie is unaware that his “father” is, in fact, his mother writing to him in a guise, to protect him from the truth. Frankie’s mother, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer), shares the most fantastical daydreams with her son through this guise, and she does not plan to stop. Until, that is, the ship she’s told Frankie his father has been sailing on, the ACCRA, is set to dock in Glasgow. In a movement to further protect Frankie, Lizzie hires a stranger (Gerard Butler) to play the part of his father for one day. But life is not as we expect it to be, and the stranger manages to change the lives of both Frankie and Lizzie.
If I’ve ever seen a movie that made me feel more complete, I wouldn’t remember it. Dear Frankie grabs the audience and takes you on a journey unlike anything before; a journey about life’s melancholic reveries, the good things and the bad and how we learn to cope with them. Dear Frankie will make you cry, laugh, feel just about every emotion possible - all at once.
Dear Frankie was recognized as “Best Film from the US” at 2004's Montreal World Film Festival and won “Best International Feature” at the Los Angeles Film Festival and “Best Feature” from both High Falls and Jackson Hole film festivals. Emily Mortimer received a nomination for her performance at 2005's European Film Awards and Jack McElhone was nominated for “Best First Time Performance” at the BAFTA, Scotland. Dear Frankie received several other nominations and wins for director Shona Auerbach and is rated PG-13 for language.