Dear Frankie (2004)

Memorable, crazy movie

Excellent adaptation.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This was really well done. Just a wonderful, honest and simple little drama about a woman who hires a stranger (Gerard Butler) to pose as her deaf 9 year old sons father to hide him the from the sad truth about his real dad. The story is bittersweet, heartwarming and touching.Emily Mortimer is fantastic as the mother (supportive but desperate) and I liked how her story regarding why she was on the run and hiding the real dad from her son was revealed in layers. Butler only has a small role but is suitably charismatic, handsome and romantic. I do wish they'd revealed more of his back story, why did he bond so quickly to the boy? But as the mother wanted, it was to be sort of an anonymous 24 hour endeavor.Jack McElhone plays the gentle natured Frankie and despite the fact that he doesn't speak throughout the film you get a feel for him through his thoughts and the letters he writes to his absent father."Dear Da, did you know something, we're moving again. Ma says that its definitely the last time but she says that every single time." Excellent supporting cast in the grandmother and Lizzie's BFF at the "Chippie" I also enjoyed the small Scottish town setting. Great job. 6/30/15

A gentle drama that would have deserved far better, in terms of reviews and box office. Auerbach depicts perfectly the mother-son relationship, makes that pair's relationship not a minor concern but something secondary. The affecting life of Mortimer and McElhone is described wisely, it's certainly an appropriate setup for a feel-good family drama, with Lizzie and her stranger getting together for a possible happy ending. Dear Frankie is a pleasant and agreeably told film with a surprise as well as a plot twist there. It reminds and resembles I'm Not Scared, both focusing on the foolishness of the adults and the intelligence of the sons. Definitely it's about an enjoyable film.

This movie could have taken a number of different directions. Fortunately, it took the right one, and the end result was a very touching movie that challenges the viewer to reflect upon the importance of family and what family represents. Frankie is a 9 year old deaf boy being raised by a single mother, who is basically on the run from Frankie's abusive father. Since she doesn't want to tell Frankie the truth about his father, she concocts a story about his dad being part of a ship's crew and writes letters to him posing as his father. You know from the start that the deception is going to come back to haunt her, and it does so when a ship of the same name as the one she made up docks in town and Frankie assumes his dad will be on it. Still unable to tell him the truth, she hires a man to pose as Frankie's dad while the ship is in the harbour.As I said, the movie could have gone in a lot of directions. It could have turned into a sappy romance between Frankie's mom and his pretend dad, but it didn't. Although they clearly developed feelings for each other, it was left as an open question whether anything more actually developed between them. It could have turned into a happy ending reconciliation movie, when Frankie's real dad pops up partway through the movie, dying and wanting to see his son, but it didn't. It could have turned into a moral statement about the evils of Frankie's mom's deception, but it didn't. It was a story about very real people living in a very difficult situation and trying their best to do the right thing, even if sometimes it arguably wasn't the right thing. It was an interesting movie from beginning to end, well written and well acted with characters that you can empathize with from the start. I have to say that the British accents are very strong and there are times when it's difficult for a North American to follow the dialogue. I saw this on TV; I understand the DVD version actually has subtitles. In this case they would have sometimes come in handy. That aside, however, this is a very impressive story indeed. 7/10

I remember a proverb that " Books are well written or badly written'.It is similar in case of movies too, Movies are well made or badly made. (there is no such thing as art films or commercial films). I saw the movie on STAR MOVIES on an evening, it completely mesmerized me.The actors weren't phony and script is also well executed. Also everybody brings out a seamless performance in acting, which can be credited to director.Even for people who hate movies, I will recommend this movie 10 out of 10.