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Emily Mortimer, Jack McElhone & Gerard Butler
Photo: Miramax

DEAR FRANKIE
Directed by: Shona Auerbach.
Produced by: Caroline Wood.
Written by: Andrea Gibb.
Director of Photography: Shona Auerbach.
Edited by: Oral Nottie Ottey.
Music by: Alex Heffes.
Released by: Miramax.
Country of Origin: UK. 105 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, Jack McElhone, Mary Riggans & Sharon Small.

How far would a mother go to protect her child is the question at hand in Dear Frankie. In this emotionally charged drama, Lizzie Morrison (Emily Mortimer), a single mother, secretly writes letters to her son Frankie, a nine-year-old deaf mute. She pretends to be his father, a merchant shipman on a long stint at sea. Lizzie keeps this secret from Frankie at a great sacrifice to herself. She has essentially stopped living - guarding her feelings, afraid to trust or to stay in one place for too long. Her son is used to packing up and leaving whenever she decides it’s time to move - which is often.

Lizzie's mother advises her that, "Frankie doesn't need lies in a letter, he needs a flesh and blood mom." Lizzie replies that reading Frankie's letters to his "dad" is the only way to "hear his voice." She even goes so far as to hire a stranger (the handsome Gerard Butler) to impersonate the dad after Frankie discovers that his "father's ship" is coming into port.

Jack McElhone is simply fantastic as the bright and inquisitive Frankie. Mortimer’s performance is subtle and restrained, adding gravity to what could have been a maudlin tale. The film is all the more poignant - and heart-wrenching - for it. As the mysterious stranger, Butler conveys much with a simple glance. And director Shona Auerbach effectively juxtaposes the vivid colors of the Scottish hillside and sea with the muted tones of Frankie's home life.

The film is more sentimental than others in this year's growing list of familial-ruse dramas (Good Bye, Lenin! and Since Otar Left...). With a moving screenplay by Andrea Gibb and wonderful performances by all principal cast members, Dear Frankie is a love letter that will draw you in. Tanya Chesterfield
October 1, 2004

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