Directed by Ira Sachs
Written by Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
ChinoKino score: D
Review by Allan Tong
Frankie is a French drama that is supposed to center on a movie star, Frankie (Isabelle Huppert), who reveals a life crisis to friends and family in the span of a day. This includes her husbands, current (Brendan Gleeson) and past (Pascal Greggory), her spoiled adult son (Jeremie Renier) and stepdaughter (Vinette Robinson). Rather than entwine hers, their storylines overtake Frankie's and the film loses its unifying force right off the bat. Frankie lacks focus. Characters come and go, often quarreling with another, while individual scenes lack emotion or impact. Frankie's friend and hairdresser Ilene (Marisa Tomei) journeys from New York to Portugal, where the film takes place, with Frankie's hope that she will spark with her son. Instead, Ilene journeys with boyfriend, Gary (Greg Kinnear), who is working on the latest Star Wars shoot nearby. In fact, this storyline is the most fleshed-out, as the couple grapple with their future together. Tomei and Kinnear are the only characters in Frankie who feel real, and Tomei steals the show.
