"Uncle Frank" is a film about uncovering secrets. It is also a film about the burden of the past in choices we make that can never be reversed. The conceit of the film is a coming of age tale about young Beth ("Betty") Bledsoe. But the core of the film is the emotional pain of her Uncle Frank.
Frank never got over the Lassiter boy, who was Samuel J. Lassiter, a teenager who left this world far too soon and for no good reason. Shamed when he was discovered in an embrace with Sam, Frank said words that he regrets until his present age of 46 in 1973.
It was Frank's domineering father, Francis Mackenzie "Mac" Bledsoe, Sr., who could never face the realities about his son's sexuality. Mac was shamed that his brother Jasper was gay, and he was incapable of tolerance about his eldest son. Frank Jr. reaches his nadir when his father's will is read aloud, which is a gut punch for the ages.
Early in the film, Uncle Frank gives the advice to Beth that changes her life. In very simple terms, Frank tells her to be herself and not be affected by what others think. In his life, Frank finds that objective more difficult to achieve for himself.
The performances and Allan Ball's scripting were first-rate in this heart-wrenching drama. The most memorable character was the effervescent partner of Frank, Wally, who always brings the joy of life to the moment. One of the characteristic scenes in the film is when Wally is in a phone booth talking in Arabic to his mother in Saudi Arabia. The love and devotion are apparent in Wally's inflections and his smile. The film's themes of family values and tolerance come across perfectly in that expressive scene.
It is Wally who best articulates the dynamic of uncovering layers of reality and coming to terms with the truth of the past. In Wally's inimitable manner, he casually asserts that "what's hidden is what interests me."
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