"Ends Justifies the Means?"
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What You Need To Know:
The mother’s elaborate lie in DEAR FRANKIE seems cruel in a way, but the story gradually reveals her reasons for maintaining it. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Lizzie, who is totally dedicated to her young, deaf son. Still, the situation would have been a lot less complicated had she not written the letters and lied about his father’s identity. Think of DEAR FRANKIE as a sad romantic movie, except the love is between mother and son instead of two paramours. The movie contains a fair amount of light foul language, however, which is unexpected and unnecessary for a movie like this. Overall, DEAR FRANKIE is warm and schmaltzy entertainment.
Content:
(BB, H, LL, S, AA, D, MM) Strong moral worldview in which mother goes to great lengths to shield her young, deaf son from his physically abusive father with a humanist message mixed in that sees power only in human efforts; eight obscenities and eight profanities; no violence; one brief sexual innuendo by fourth graders on playground; characters drink beer and periphery characters drunkenly stumble; several characters smoke; and, mother lies to son about the identity of his father in order to protect him from the abusive parent and kind man pretends to be the child’s father, although the child figures out the trick.
More Detail:
DEAR FRANKIE is a syrupy drama from Scotland about a mother going to great lengths to protect her son from his physically abusive father. Along with her mother, the three of them have been on the run from Frankie’s dad since he was a baby. Each time that he catches up with them, the trio hits the road again. To prevent Frankie from knowing the harsh truth about his father, his mother Lizzie writes letters to Frankie and signs them from his father. When it is impossible to maintain her lie much longer, she pays a man to pretend to be the writer of the letters, Frankie’s father.
While this elaborate lie may seem cruel in a way (a mother lying to her son), the movie softens it a lot and gradually reveals her reasons for maintaining it. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Lizzie, who is utterly dedicated to her young, deaf son and has turned her life upside-down to protect the boy from his villainous father. Still, the situation would have been a lot less complicated had she not written the letters and lied about his father’s identity. One can imagine the problems with trust that will result later in life for Frankie.
Of course, the plot twists and turns once Lizzie hires a stand-in father for Frankie. The director and writer make everything a little too obvious, which will insult, or more likely bore, more savvy viewers. At one point, it seems that Lizzie and the stand-in father are going to fall in love, but happily the movie has too much restraint for that hackneyed subplot. Many of the moments, especially once Frankie’s real father becomes involved, are very sad, in a heartwarming way.
Think of DEAR FRANKIE as a sad romantic movie, except the love is between mother and son instead of two paramours. It’s a lot better than many Lifetime TV movies but is in the same genre. There is a fair amount of light foul language, however, which is unexpected and unnecessary for a movie like this. It will turn off some audience members who would otherwise enjoy the movie. Overall, DEAR FRANKIE is warm and schmaltzy entertainment.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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