Uncle Frank
Ratings: 4.2/5
Duration: 1hr 35 mins
Language: English
Genre: Comedy-Drama
Director: Alan Ball
Writer: Alan Ball
Producer: Bill Block, Michael Costigan, Jay Van Hoy, Stephanie Meurer, Peter Macdissi, Alan Ball
Music: Nathan Barr
Cinematography: Khalid Mohtaseb
Editing: Jonathan Alberts
Art Direction: Darcy C. Scanlin, Amy Morrison
Release Date: 25 November 2020
Streaming On: Amazon Prime
Star Cast: Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, Peter Macdissi, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Margo Martindale, Stephen Root, Lois Smith, Jane McNeill, Caity Brewer , Hannah Black, Michael Banks Repeta, Isabella Pambianchi, Burgess Jenkins, Zach Strum
Plot:
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch's funeral, they are unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Review:
‘Uncle Frank’ was premiered at Sundance, where Amazon acquired its worldwide rights for reportedly $12 million. The story’s inspirational tone is appealing to general audiences, and Alan Ball as the creator of Six Feet Under and the Oscar-winning screenwriter of American Beauty goes on for the extra good mile this time.
‘Uncle Frank’ is a 2020 comedy-drama in which a gay man and his 18-year-old niece drive from New York City to their South Carolina hometown to attend his father's funeral. The movie is set in 1973, and the lead character has not come out to his conservative family, and the movie centres on Frank's reckoning with a traumatic past that involved the suicide of his first boyfriend.
Frank is a recovering alcoholic and falls back on the wagon upon returning to his hometown, resulting in binge drinking, surly and belligerent behaviour, and a violent altercation with his boyfriend.
Paul Bettany drives the film, his story is observed through the eyes of Sophia Lillis’ Beth of the Bledsoe family. Uncle Frank opens like a coming-of-age drama but soon turns into a road movie when family tragedy strikes, prompting a long drive home.
As for Frank’s family, the supporting cast including Margo Martindale as the kindly, big-hearted matriarch and Root as a Bible-loving Christian who considered his son’s homosexuality to be a ghastly sin.
In the final act, as Frank reconnects with his past and the emotional volcano erupts in an explosion of alcoholism, lingering PTSD and homophobia, unbalancing the previously established treatment of the film. While Uncle Frank’s 95-minute runtime makes for a comfortable pace, it ends in a haste.
Writer-director Alan Ball has proved masterful at tackling themes of life, death, LGBTQ+ stories and bigotry in small-town America.
A series of unclear flashbacks to Frank’s youth will eventually lead to predictable revelations so much so that its intentions to strive for a teary conclusion is evident. Although, the ending may not particularly feel organic, the film is worthy of watching and enjoying the time of the day drama.
Milestones:
- Public Prize at the 2020 Deauville American Film Festival
