Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

A darling in both British and American cinema, British-born Emily Mortimer has been gaining acclaim in both film critics and the independent film community. After getting minor work in several films until the late 90s through a string of small British films including mainstream fare like Scream 3, The Kid, Elizabeth, and a memorable appearance in Roger Michell's Notting Hill, Mortimer achieved a huge breakthrough in Nicole Holofcener's 2001 film Lovely & Amazing. In that film, Mortimer shocked audiences by showing her own physical flaws while being fully-nude which won Mortimer an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress. Since then, films like A Foreign Affair, Young Adam, and Bright Young Things for Stephen Fry, earned Mortimer more attention and acclaim. In 2004, Mortimer starred in a film about a Scottish mother protecting her young, deaf child by pretending to be his father through corresponding letters in Dear Frankie.

Written by Andrea Gibb and directed by Shona Auerbach, Dear Frankie is a delightful tale of a young mother protecting her 9 1/2-year old deaf son about the truth of his abusive father she left for several years as after through a series of corresponding letters pretending to be his father, she has to find a man to pretend to be the father the boy never knew. Also starring Gerard Butler, Jack McElhone, Mary Riggans, Sharon Small, and Anne Marie Timoney. Dear Frankie is a charming, heartbreaking drama starring one of today’s most delightful actresses.

After hearing that her husband Davey (Cal Macaninch) is coming into town, Lizzie Morrison (Emily Mortimer) is packing up to move again with her 9 ½-year old son Frankie (Jack McElhone) and her mother Nell (Mary Riggans). They land themselves to a Scottish port near Glasgow where Frankie hopes he can write to the father he never knew about going into port. Despite his deafness, Frankie has a canny intelligence as he befriends the local shop owner Marie (Sharon Small) while getting by in school easily. Lizzie takes a job at the shop while intercepting the letters Frankie is sending as she pretends to be his dad writing back. While Nell knows why Lizzie does this, she still couldn't believe she would continue to lie to his son without him knowing.

Frankie befriends a girl named Catriona (Jayd Johnson) while gaining a rival in Ricky Munroe (Sean Browne), he often thinks about the adventures his father is in sailing around the world on a ship named Accra. Lizzie is fully convinced that she the ship is fictional until Frankie learns that the ship is coming to the port where he believes that his father is coming to see him. Lizzie is in shock as she's afraid that he might learn the truth that will scar him for life. Turning to her mother and Marie, she becomes desperate to the point of finding a man to pretend to be her father while Nell continues to call reports that Lizzie is missing to tell her daughter-in-law Janet (Anne Marie Timoney) to leave them alone. Finally thanks to connections from Marie, Lizzie is set up to meet a stranger (Gerard Butler) who is willing to play the father for a day for payment. Especially when Lizzie learned that Frankie made a bet with Ricky over the idea that his father would come.

The stranger shows up as immediately, he and Frankie have a nice rapport around them as Lizzie looks on. More importantly for Frankie, he wins his bet as for an entire afternoon, the stranger seems to take joy in pretending to be Frankie's father. After getting his payment, he decides to spend another day with him and Lizzie before he leaves the day after tomorrow. Lizzie is a little shocked, especially when Janet gives her news that Davey is dying. Frankie, Lizzie, and the stranger spend another day where it becomes joyful as Lizzie and the stranger spark up into a potential relationship as she reveals the truth to the stranger about Frankie's deafness and his father. While she was happy to see her son happy, Lizzie is forced to meet up with his real father where she has to come to terms with revealing Frankie the truth or protecting him.

Most films about family situations seem to lie into sentimental regions but thanks to screenwriter Andrea Gibb and director Shona Auerbach, the film doesn't go into that direction. The film focuses on a mother's ability to protect her son from all of the horrible thing she had endured from her husband as she pretends to be the father he never had. While the storytelling approach is simple and has predictable moments, it's only until the third act where things become more realistic to the point where the ending has an unexpected emotional punch. Gibb's script is filled with realistic dialogue and character development that works while mixes humor and drama with such natural quality. Auerbach's direction really works into not sentimentalize any kind of situation or bringing any kind of contrived situations while making her characters very real. Especially in some of the film's narration where its mail being written or read by Frankie.

With Auerbach shooting entirely on location in Scotland, her work as director and cinematographer shows the often gray but true authentic feel of the working class ports of Scotland. Production designer Jennifer Kernke and art director Margaret Horspool do a wonderful job in capturing the working class look of the film as well as the homes and places of Scotland which isn't as bleak as shown in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. Costume designer Carole K. Millar also does great work in the look for the characters, especially Emily Mortimer and Gerard Butler's respective characters. The film is solidly edited by Oral Nettie Ottey that has a nice, leisurely paced feel while the sound work of Peter Brill also plays up the sounds of the town's ports. The music is a wonderful mix of Alex Heffes' sweeping and ethereal score along with music ranging from Scottish-folk rock and British alternative to a piano piece from Avro Part that conveys the troubling emotions of Mortimer's character.

The film's small, ensemble cast is excellent since it's filled with wonderful small parts like Sean Brown as the cantankerous Ricky Munroe, Jayd Johnson as the charming Catriona, and Cal Macaninch as Davey, the bitterly, dying husband. Sharon Small is wonderful in a supporting role as Marie whose true sense of understanding provides a wonderful caricature of a woman who helps out doing things while being one of the few good-hearted people in town. Anne Marie Timoney is also good in her small role as Lizzie's sister-in-law Janet who is aware of her brother's awful deeds but wants Lizzie to deal with these things in a masterful performance. Mary Riggans is also good in her supporting role as Lizzie's sympathetic and wary mother who tries to help her out hide from her former son-in-law.

Playing the role of Frankie, Jack McElhone does amazing work in playing a deaf but intelligent kid who knows his way around to the point because of his cleverness, you forget the fact that he is deaf. McElhone plays the part with such natural charm and wit that it's a marvelous performance while on the voice-over work, Jonathan Pender does excellent work in the reading of the voice-over. Gerard Butler is also excellent in his sheer, complex performance as a strange with a street tough exterior only to reveal a sensitive, fraternal side to himself in many scenes with McElhone and Mortimer as Butler shines in his heart-filled performance.

Finally, there's Emily Mortimer in one of her best performances to date as a woman, flawed but with a heart of gold. Playing a single mother trying to protect her son does have its cliches but Mortimer rises above those cliches by using sign language and her wit to communicate with McElhone where the film's heart lies. Not only does Mortimer have great chemistry with McElhone and Butler, but with the entire cast as she share moments with the actors to shine while being the driving force of the performance. It's truly one of the more overlooked performances of 2004.

While it's not a perfect film, Dear Frankie is a heartwarming, earnest family drama from Shona Auerbach and Andrea Gibb led by a wonderful cast featuring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, and Jack McElhone. Families looking for a film that is smart and has a nice message will definitely find this movie to be charming and sweet. Fans of Emily Mortimer will no doubt find this film as one of her best as the British actress is currently riding a deserving wave of success in her recent appearance in Woody Allen's 2005 film Match Point. Overall, Dear Frankie is a sweet, intelligent film about a mother's love for her son.

Related Reviews:

Lovely & Amazing (2003):

http://www.epinions.com/content_110202687108

Match Point (2005):

http://www.epinions.com/content_219073711748


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older