Dear Frankie (2004) on Netflix
Nine-year-old Frankie believes his father is a seaman aboard HMS Accra. His mother Lizzie writes the letters he receives, and the ship is due to dock in their new town.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.6/1023,182 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
Lizzie Morrison keeps moving with her nine-year-old deaf son Frankie, staying ahead of her abusive ex-husband, and they have settled in the Scottish town of Greenock, where she takes work at a fish and chip shop run by Marie. Frankie writes often to the father he believes is a merchant seaman aboard HMS Accra, and the replies he treasures come from Lizzie herself, who would rather keep the story going than explain why they left. When Lizzie learns the ship will dock at Greenock, she needs someone to stand in as Frankie's father for a day. Marie gives her the name of a man passing through town, and Lizzie meets him with the letters.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Dear Frankie (2004)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Dear Frankie began as a 15-minute short script that Andrea Gibb submitted as a writing sample to producer Caroline Wood, for what would be Shona Auerbach's feature debut. Auerbach was so taken with Gibb's work that she convinced her to expand it to feature length.
- The role of The Stranger had still not been cast just before filming was due to start. When director Shona Auerbach met Gerard Butler she instinctively knew he was perfect and offered him the part without having him read for her.
- Jack McElhone was among the first group of boys Shona Auerbach auditioned for the part of Frankie. She saw about a hundred more, but none captured the character, as she perceived it, more impressively than he did.
- Dear Frankie was shown in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a fifteen-minute standing ovation.
- The film's production design by Jennifer Kernke and its palette of colors were inspired by paintings of the Glasgow Boys and Glasgow Girls, Glasgow School collectives whose artwork showed prosaic scenes of the Scottish countryside.
