© 2009
Dear Frankie
Reviewed by Kim Ward
"Dear Frankie" is a touching movie about a single mother raising her deaf son. To protect young Frankie from learning the truth about his absent father, she makes up a fantastic tale about him being a sailor. Then she encourages Frankie to write letters to his father. Each week she picks up Frankie's letters from a post office box, then writes back pretending to be Frankie's father. It all backfires when Frankie discovers the ship his father supposedly sails on will be docking in his town! Mom becomes frantic to find a 'temporary' man to pose as Frankie's father for a day.
Meanwhile a school bully ups the ante by betting Frankie his father won't show. Though the business arrangement between mom and Frankie's phoney dad is only meant to last a day, Frankie and his 'da' bond instantly. Sparks begin to fly between the adults as well. Events take a complicated turn when ads asking for the whereabouts of Mom and Frankie start showing up in the newspaper "personals" column. You're left wondering almost to the very end where Frankie's real father is and why he isn't part of this wonderful little family, but don't despair. The truth is eventually revealed in a dramatic, heart-wrenching scene.
Though Frankie was a "champion lip reader," he and his mother signed throughout the movie. I enjoyed seeing Scottish sign and comparing the differences to ASL. Jack McElhone did a fantastic job as nine-and-a-half year old Frankie, and was nominated for the distinguished BAFTA Scotland Award for Best First Performance. He was adorable, sweet and convincing as a deaf child, though he isn't really deaf.
Emily Mortimer (Lizzie) perfectly portrayed a desperate single-mom keeping everyone at bay. She'll do anything to protect her son, but she's so tightly wound you get a sense she's going to crack at some point. She was nominated for two awards -- Europe's Best Actress and London's Critics Circle Film Award British Actress of the Year.
The story was refreshingly honest with just enough low-key surprises to make it all believable. I absolutely loved this movie and look forward to future productions by director, Shona Auerbach who took in a whopping total of eight awards for her role as director. This is out on DVD with captions.