Dear Frankie
| Dear Frankie | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Shona Auerbach |
| Produced by | Caroline Wood |
| Written by | Andrea Gibb |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alex Heffes |
| Cinematography | Shona Auerbach |
| Edited by | Oral Norrie Ottey |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Country | Scotland |
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| Box office | $2,980,136 |
Dear Frankie is a 2004 British drama film directed by Shona Auerbach and starring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, and Jack McElhone. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts her to perpetuate a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father.
The film was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards, including two BAFTA Scotland Awards.
Lizzie Morrison (Emily Mortimer) and nine-year-old deaf son Frankie (Jack McElhone) frequently relocate to keep one step ahead of her abusive ex-husband and his family. They are accompanied by her opinionated, chain-smoking mother Nell. Newly relocated in the Scottish town of Greenock, Lizzie accepts a job at the local fish and chips shop owned by a friendly woman named Marie, and enrolls Frankie in school.
Through a Glasgow post office box, Frankie maintains a regular correspondence with someone he believes to be his father, Davey, who allegedly is a merchant seaman working on the HMS Accra. In reality, the letters he receives are written by his mother, who prefers maintaining this charade instead of telling the boy the reason she fled her marriage.
When she learns that the Accra will soon be arriving at the docks at Greenock, Lizzie in a panic concocts a scheme to hire a man to impersonate Davey. When her effort to find someone at the local pub fails, she enlists Marie's assistance. Marie arranges for her to meet an acquaintance who coincidentally is passing through town at the same time the Accra will be in port. When Lizzie and the stranger (Gerard Butler) meet, he doesn't tell her his name. Lizzie explains the situation and gives him the letters to provide some background. He agrees to spend a day with Frankie in exchange for the meager payment Lizzie can offer him.
When the stranger arrives at their home to pick up the boy, he brings with him a book about marine life (to Lizzie's surprise), one of Frankie's passions, and a bond is forged immediately. The two spend a day together (with Lizzie secretly following them), collecting on Frankie's bet at a soccer match from a school mate, ordering chips, and later in the evening setting up another half day visit.
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Wikipedia