Herald Rating: * * * *
Cast: Sinead Cusack, Sam Neill, Matthew Newton
Director: Mark Lamprell
Rating: M
Running Time: 94 minutes
Screening: Rialto
Review: Tim Watkin
Frances Regina Aileen Nano Kennedy, known as Frank, is a widow trapped by grief and boredom, clinging to life through the lives of her exasperated children. Her days are punctuated by exploding cans and arguments with a painting of St Theresa. A wild decision to start an arts degree transforms her in ways no one expected.
As Frank heads to university, we are treated to a lesson ourselves: that simple stories well told and played by a talented cast make for the best films.
An Australian film employing Irish (Cusack) and New Zealand (Neill) actors as its leads, My Mother Frank gets an A and goes to the top of the class. It's engaging, warm and should appeal across generations, being a story of liberation for the middle-aged and encouragement for the young. The script, all the more remarkable because it was written and rewritten over 10 years, is bang on.
Frank sets just the right tone - believable without trying to be gritty, contemporary without trying to be hip, and smart without trying to be clever. That's not always easy either, as drama slowly takes over from comedy.
The cast is outstanding. As reality breaks into their very different but equally restrained lives, Cusack as Frank moves from fearful to fearsome and Neill as Professor Mortlock from smug to not-quite-so smug.
The two 80-year-old nuns are a hoot, but it's Matthew Newton as 19-year-old David Kennedy who contributes most to the heart and humour of the film. He's lovesick for Jenny, his best mate's girlfriend, and is fed up with his mother as she moves into his university and his circle of friends.
With the family pressures of Christmas coming, you should go to see Frank to remember how frustrating, fun and faithful families can be.
My Mother Frank
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