Dear Frankie is a good movie stuck inside of a great story. Frankie is a nine-year-old boy (Jack McElhone) with one great joy in his life: corresponding with his father, a naval petty officer. The letters have defined and improved his life. Deaf, he barely speaks. In his letters he reads in a gentle, confident Scottish brogue. He devours books on marine life; a large map of his father's travels dominates his bedroom; and he declines fish with his chips. Though he's sick of moving, this town is different. It's by the sea.In truth, Frankie's father is in Scotland, gravely ill. His life at sea was concocted by Frankie's mother, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer of Dirty Pretty Things), to keep the real, landlocked father out of their lives. We don't know much about Frankie's dad, only that he caused the boy's deafness and is so despicable that Lizzie, her mother, and Frankie raise stakes frequently to maintain their distance.
Continue reading: Dear Frankie Review