This sounded like an appealing film drama, and recognised the leading actor and actress, so I gave it a go, and I'm glad I did. Basically Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) is a single mother living with her mother and her deaf son Frankie (Scotland BAFTA nominated Jack McElhone). Since childhood Frankie has been writing to his father, but it is actually his mother who has been answering, posing as a gentle ship worker, when in fact his real father is, or was, a violent abusive man. But now Frankie wants to meet his father, and Lizzie obviously doesn't to bring the real father into it. So she gets her friend to find a man with no past, present or future, and soon enough The Stranger (300's Gerard Butler) agrees to pose as Frankie's father (and is getting paid for it) for one day. But he enjoys his company that he asks Lizzie to stay one more day so Frankie can really get his time with him. When he does leave, Lizzie gets news that the real father is dying, so she goes to visit him, and obviously he wants to see his son before he dies, and gets very angry when she disagrees. In the end, Frankie sends his last letter, thanking his dad (the stranger) for the time they spent together, but it turns out that he knew all along he wasn't the real father, and that the real one died, and hopes to see the stranger (who was Lizzie's friend's brother) again. Also starring Sharon Small as Marie, Mary Riggans as Nell, Jayd Johnson as Catriona, Sean Brown as Ricky Monroe, Anne Marie Timoney as Janet, Cal Macaninch as Davey and Mike & Angelo's Katy Murphy as Miss MacKenzie. Mortimer does very well as the pressured and protective mother, Butler adds interest as the kind stranger, and McElhone is very natural as the deaf son, not too sentimental and a good amount of bittersweet charm, a very good Scottish drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer for first time director Shona Auerbach, and it was nominated the Scotland BAFTA for Best Director. Very good!
Review of Dear Frankie
