As a Portuguese movie buff it delights me to no end to have such an incredible cast work in my home country. It really is a fantastic ensemble from very different parts of the world and from different eras and acting schools. You can imagine how disappointed I was when I finally got to see the movie. A very slow, soulless piece, with very little energy and absolutely no interest. And the biggest sin was that Ira Sachs gave all this wonderful and accomplished actors absolutely nothing to work from. Not even the beautiful imagery of Sintra could save this. What a shame and a wasted opportunity.
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bastos15 September 2020
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Holli_Would21 January 2020I watched this last year and it left very little impression on me.
The film, according to director Ira Sachs, is based on a 1962 Indian (Bollywood) film by director Satyajit Ray called Kanchenjungha.
This film is based on a family vacation in Sintra (Portugal), where a family gathers to learn about the life-altering event in Frankie's life. She's a famous French actress facing her own mortality, while surrounded (at her request) by family, friends, lovers, ex-lovers, and so forth.
With a wonderful cast from several countries (English, French, and American), the film is a slow meander through the streets of Sintra, while we meet and learn a bit about each character, their life challenges, and how they relate to Frankie. It's just that it doesn't flesh out the supporting characters' roles, because there are too many of them and not enough time in a feature film, so we get a taste of what's going on, but really fail to connect with anyone, including Frankie.
Isabelle Huppert is a marvel and a gifted actress, but even she seems disconnected from her own character, almost as if she's phoning it in. Case in point, a scene in the forest between her and Marissa Tomei, where Frankie has a seizure seemed like amateur hour. Surprising from an Oscar nominated (and robbed!) actress of her caliber, but I blame the writing/direction.
Overall, the cast is wonderful, but the film fails to deliver. That's why an average rating of 5/10 on here is not shocking.
See it for the cast and the scenery, but don't expect much as far as a truly moving story is concerned. -
levybob6 October 2019I saw 'Frankie' today (Oct. 6, 2019) at the Mill Valley Film Festival. A more slow-moving, uninteresting film would be hard to find. Other critics of the film have done a good job of laying out the plot, so I won't take up your time. My low rating is based on the low (lowest) energy that this film puts out. It is as though no one has the energy to show emotion. As though the Portugal heat has had its effect on everyone. But more than anything else the film runs as though it were a table-read; actors with script in hand, doing a first read at a table. The camera work is leisurely at best. This could be a TV soap-opera episode as easily as a theatrical film.
And for that there's no excuse.
Then why, you might ask, the four stars. For Ms. Tomei and Mrs. Hupert, that's why. -
ferguson-68 November 2019Greetings again from the darkness. Sintra is a resort town in Portugal, not far from Lisbon. It is breathtakingly beautiful with mountains, beaches, cliffs, colorful gardens and a picturesque town filled with charming churches and majestic castles. Writer-director Ira Sach's film probably should have been bank-rolled by Sintra's tourism committee, because the town is surely to be on the must-see travel list of every person who sees this movie. Unfortunately, what works as a travel tease, offers little else as a cinematic or entertainment vehicle.
Beloved French actress Isabelle Huppert stars as beloved French actress Francois, better known as Frankie. She has organized a vacation gathering for her modern day family consisting of her second and current husband, Scotsman Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson), her first husband, gay man Michel (Pascal Gregory), teenage granddaughter Maya (Sennia Nanua) and Maya's two quarrelling parents Ian (Ariyon Bakare) and Sylvia (Vinette Robinson), and Frankie's self-centered and problematic son Paul (Jeremie Renier). Also invited is Ilene (Marisa Tomei), Frankie's long-time friend and hair stylist, who without telling Frankie, brought along a date, cinematographer Gary (Greg Kinnear). When someone complains about her inviting Ilene, Frankie replies, think of it as "Family Plus One."
Frankie has arranged this trip under the guise of 'a final goodbye'. Her cancer has returned, and it's likely to take her life very soon. Despite that, it really appears Frankie is acting as a matchmaker for her jerky son Paul, by thinking he and the delightful Ilene might be a good fit ... you know, since she lives in New York and he's moving there. This speaks to the blindness of parents towards their own kids, but also the never-ending hope for their happiness. During this trip, we witness one of the most awkward proposals ever, plus a re-telling of a family secret at a most inopportune time. The latter is likely the most interesting segment of the movie.
Ira Sachs and his writing partner Mauricio Zacharias are known for NYC-based stories like LITTLE MEN (2016) and LOVE IS STRANGE (2014), so this idyllic setting is a bit outside their wheelhouse. We listen in on many awkward conversations, and the film involves mostly walking and talking ... with a high percentage of it being Frankie hiking on trails while wearing heels. There is an effective cloud of sadness over most every moment, and the overload of melancholy represents the struggles of this group getting through a single day. Somehow even the beautiful final shot doesn't deliver any more emotional impact than the rest of the film. There just isn't much here other than what most of us regularly experience in life ... well, other than Sintra as a setting. -
pd78w11 March 2020As someone who can watch Brendan Gleeson in anything, this movie left me completely unmoved. None of the characters seemed to have their hearts in their roles. The 3-star rating is solely because Gleeson at least gave it a go. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's sorry he has this clunker on his resume.
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corriek-7044810 November 2019Audience REACTIONS at its North American PREMIERE: 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄(7 laughs) 😢(sadish bit)
Frankie (Ira Sachs) is a psychoanalytical film centred around a classical Isabelle Huppert performance. She explained at TIFF that she is a slightly different person in her performance because she predominantly speaks English instead of her native French. The director revealed that the characters were written for the actors and it truly resulted in a well balanced film.
Perhaps the biggest star in this attractive work is the Sintra landscape in Portugal. This daylight film is a movement throughout a quaint town, magical forest, and quiet mountaintop. Embracing silence, the film makes the eclectic feel familiar in few words. This film is not for everyone because the pacing will lose the attention of those who enjoy fast moving or action based movies. While the film is slow, it is slow in a beautiful way. Frankie is exceptionally stunning as a visual work of art. #filmreactiviews -
In "Frankie", the eponymous French movie star (played by Isabelle Huppert) is dying of cancer and gathers her complex family and friends around her for one last 'family holiday' in the picturesque Portuguese town of Sintra. We follow the events of a single day of the vacation as frictions and back-stories of the players become more evident.
Positives:- Sintra looks gorgeous: as a regular visitor to Portugal's Silver Coast, it's a place I've not yet visited. The cinematography of the region makes me want to change that.
- There are a couple of decent scenes in the movie: both involving the trustworthy Greg Kinnear: one involving him trying to sell a film idea to Frankie (who knows, but won't tell him, that she won't be around for it); and another with Kinnear and Tomei at their hotel.
Negatives:- Where do I start.... the film is as dull as ditchwater!
-- A criticism I had of the otherwise impressive "Nomadland" was that the story arc of the leading character was shallow and not very compelling. The story arc here is a bloody straight line! Virtually nothing happens in the movie and it goes nowhere. Events occur as isolated snippets in the storyline. For example, the 'loss' of an expensive bracelet is randomly lobbed into the story, but then is never referenced back in any future narrative.
-- When the ending happened (which the illustrious Mrs Movie Man referred to as a "blessing") it was a non-event. The lady behind us in the cinema exclaimed "WHAT????". And I could understand her frustration.- The direction is distinctly lacking. Aside from the couple of decent scenes (see above), most of the shots feel like first takes, with the actors doing read-throughs of the clunky script to try to work out how to best sell the lines. "OK, time to film it for real now". But director Sachs has already shouted "Cut and Print.... now who's for some more vinos and Pastel de Nata?"! Were they aiming for some sort of naturalistic fumbling of the character's conversations? For that's how it comes across, and it's just awful.
- The script feels like a wasted opportunity. The set-up should have been a good one for an intense drama. And there are flashes (merely flashes) of potential brilliance in there: a formative step-brother/step-sister incident is based around the film "Grease", which is mirrored (either cleverly or purely through coincidence!?) in the beach-side romance of Maya (Sennia Nanua) and Portuguese holiday-maker Pedro (Manuel Sá Nogueira). And does the homosexual Michel (Pascal Greggory) have his sights on Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson)? Or Tiago? Or both? None of these potentially interesting strands ever get tied down..
- Aside from the poor script and the poor direction, some of the acting performances are unconvincing. "The Girl with all the Gifts" was a fabulous film - it made my number 2 slot of 2016! And I called out young Sennia Nanua as "one to watch for the future" as the zombie girl at the heart of the film. Here she was 17 at the time of filming. But I'm afraid I just didn't find her convincing as the moody teen. (By the way, I only single her out, since I was so impressed with her previous performance: with the exception perhaps of Kinnear, Tomei and Carloto Cotta. None of the rest of the cast consistently shine either.)
Summary Thoughts: It's a real shame that my first visit back to the cinema was such a let-down. Ira Sachs is not a director I know, but he comes with a strong reputation (for 2016's "Little Men"). But here he delivers a plain stinker. I'm afraid this movie has a word associated with it, and the word is "Avoid".
(For the full graphical review, please check out "One Mann's Movies" on t'interweb or Facebook. Thanks.) -
Intermissionman_10 November 2019Set at a Lovely Portuguese Resort Oceanside, here is the story of Frankie a Famous French Film Star who is dying of Cancer. In an attempt to reunite her Family and Friends she invites them all to this Resort so they can spend time together. And that my friends is exactly what you see. Acted out by Pro's with all one Camera shots and mainly 2 character scenes . Simply done by Director Mr Ira Sachs. If you look at it from his angles I thought it was a nice ride. The shots of the Resort are breathtakingly crisp. Beautiful Cast !
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Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is a dying French star. She organizes a family stay in Sintra, a sumptuous Portuguese seaside resort near Lisbon, the main purpose being an opportunity for all the remaining relatives to get closer and learn how to live together ... without her. I loved how she makes believe that she orchestrated a highly unlikely rapprochement between her son Paul (Jérémie Renier)) and her friend Irene (Marisa Tomei) while her objective is undoubtedly with other ones.
The making is probably excessively contemplative and the result is not as accomplished as Little Men (2016) also directed by Ira Sachs, all the characters suffering from an understandable but excessive temporal acedia. 5/6 of 10 -
mjfhhh13 August 2019Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is having a holiday. A somewhat famous and somewhat rich actor she invites her family for their last outing together as due to her cancer she is not going to make it to Christmas. This is a modern family indeed, which involves her gay ex-husband (Pascal Greggory), her current Scottish hubby Jim (Brandon Gleeson), her stepdaughter and her son (who may or may not have feeling for each other) and a couple from New York Irene (Marisa Tomei) and Gary (Greg Kinnear) who have been summoned here for a reason.
For some it's a good day, for some it's heartbreaking, but for Frankie it may be just one of the few happy ones left...
Told without pathos and preaching this is a quiet reflective film about one strong woman facing her mortality and accepting that no matter what, the world will carry on without her.
Isabelle Huppert gives a great performance as usual, but here there's a feeling she brings in a little bit of her real self to the role. The ensemble of great actors is everything here and makes the patchwork of encounters and dialogues entertaining and meaningful.
FRANKIE may be considered a little dull, there are no comic situations, no great arguments, no characters to root for and hope that they achieve a certain goal. Frankie, just like the rest of her family, is only trying to get through a day and somehow we are very comfortable in their company, watching them wandering aimlessly through the picturesque Portuguese gardens and beaches. FRANKIE is worth watching for the performances and for the soothing feeling that may let you appreciate your life a little more. -
michaeldoud10 November 2019First Hit: Languid look at a family gathered to process a life-altering event.
During a day in Sintra, Portugal, Francois Cremont, AKA "Frankie" (Isabelle Huppert) has asked family and friends to gather to spend time together. Frankie is a famous actress and tries to keep a low profile while at this famous picturesque town. She walks with her husband, Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson), and a guide who says at one point, there are miracle heal waters in an undisclosed place near the hotel. You can tell by the way she looks, she's not well.
Frankie's invited her son Paul (Jeremie Renier) and close friend Irene (Marisa Tomei), hoping to make a love connection between them. However, Irene has brought her boyfriend Gary (Greg Kinnear) as they were both working on a "Star Wars" film in nearby Spain. Gary springs his plans to ask Irene to make their relationship more permanent by moving in together. He gives her a ring as a token of his intentions. Irene hesitates.
The closeness of Irene and Frankie is wonderfully portrayed during their long walk together and then the ride back to the hotel in a small open-air taxi. It's a sweet and revealing moment.
Gary, sad at being shunned by Irene, runs into Frankie and learns from her that if Irene didn't come right out and say yes to his proposal that they live together, it's probably something she doesn't want to do. Then Gary shifts and asks if Frankie would be interested in a script, he's thinking of turning into a film.
Sylvia and Ian Andoh (Vinette Robinson and Ariyon Bakare) are also at the hotel with their daughter Maya (Sennia Nanua). Sylvia and Ian's marriage is in trouble, and Sylvia wants to move on. Their discussion at the café was impactful when she learns that he's suspected her wanting to leave and tells her what his lawyer has stated.
The story has Maya getting away from her frustrated mother that results in a few sweet scenes of Maya taking a trolley to the beach, meeting a boy, and kisses him.
These scenes and more are not integrated very well into the overall theme of the film, which to me, was about Frankie trying to say goodbye.
There was little character development for all the characters, and therefore the audience is left to fill in the vast spaces left by the dialogue about past events.
Huppert is good as Frankie. However, I didn't really care about her character or her story. Tomei was excellent, and she showed a fantastic range of emotions during her conversations with Gary and Frankie. Renier was strong as the son who was probably not very important to his famous mother, Frankie. Gleeson seemed very miscast, and sort of bumbled through this role. I didn't sense any chemistry between him and Frankie and didn't see how they could have been married. Robinson was dynamic as a woman who wanted to leave her husband because she didn't feel like there was anything left for her in her relationship. Bakare was good as Sylvia's husband, who loved his wife but knew she really wanted to leave. Nanua was terrific as the young girl who went to explore the coastal town and discovered more about herself. Kinnear was well cast as an opportunist. Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias wrote this bland screenplay. The dialogue never really seemed to go anywhere and seem to fall into a state of languishment. Sachs directed this film, and I'm not sure what it is he really wanted to say or express.
Overall: There was little in this film about human nature, but Sintra seems like a beautiful place to visit. -
Director Ira Sachs (Kept the Lights On, Little Men, Forty Shades of Blue) wrote the screenplay with Mauricio Zacharias for this gentle whisper of a film that is one of the more subtle, visually impressive, and tender reflections on the subtleties of relationships and families to grace the screen.
Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is a famous and much admired film actress who has gathered her dissipated family in Sintra, Portugal as a gesture of farewell: she is in Stage IV metastatic carcinoma. The ensemble includes her first husband Michel (Pascal Greggory) and her son by him Paul (Jérémie Renier), her present husband Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson) and his daughter Sylvia (Vinette Robinson) her husband Ian (Ariyon Bakare) and granddaughter Maya (Sennia Nanua), along with Frankie's longterm hairdresser (from films) friend Ilene (Marisa Tomei) who is with her co-worker Gary (Greg Kinnear). The interweaving of these interesting personalities creates intimate side stories as they gather in this picturesque locale, the home of a magical fountain of life. Frankie has envisioned the way she hopes old connections among this disparate group of people will correct, and while those ideas don't materialize, the mysteries of companionship and love continue to find their own destinies.
The spectacularly sensitive cinematography by Rui Poças and the special atmosphere the music of Schubert's Moments Musicaux and Debussy's Arabesques allow the film to be pensive and understated. The quiet prolonged ending of the film is worthy of awards, so well sculpted by director Sachs that it allows the messages of the film to absorb in stillness.
In an age when high tech CGI, noisy action, and crude physicality films dominate the screens, this little film is a gentle reminder of those aspects of living that deserve out appreciation. -
mloessel30 October 2023Although 'Frankie' had a seasoned cast the story and its energy level waned. Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear should be enough to carry the story of a movie forward they failed. I'm not familiar with French actress Isabelle Huppert. She played the principal character. The story has her visiting Portugal with only a few months to live. In this story you've got love, marriage and money problems to juggle. It's considered a drama.
The one silver lining could be where the film was shot ... Sintra, Portugal. Sintra is near Lisbon, Portugal and has it's share of castles. Some very picturesque castles. However, this movie was not about the magical castles but Sintra has natural beauty and that helped move 'Frankie' along. This wasn't 'Love Story' or 'Terms of Endearment' with a very compelling story. Instead we have a woman with a few months to live choosing to spend those days with her family and offering some sage advice. Yawn!
Let's say I choose to give 'Frankie another shot. I would already know that love, marriage and money problems are sub plots I'd let those issues serve as my multiple anchors. Of the ten actors giving their all (in this 98 minute drama) Marisa Tomei and Greg Kinnear stood out. They both have strong resumes: Marisa Tomei was amazingly funny in 'My Cousin Vinny'; Greg Kinnear played a distraught gay man in 'As Good As It Gets'. In 'Frankie' they are paired up as a couple that might get married. There's a scene where Greg gives Marisa a ring and sort of asks her to marry him. They seem to come to an agreement that marriage could or would be a good thing. I found that scene humorous because it was as though they were playing a board game and Greg decided to stop playing and give her a ring and she seemed pleased that he did. She then asked if this was a marriage proposal and he replied that perhaps it was. He didn't get on his knee or offer a rose or make it more romantic.
I wouldn't put this movie on the shelf. But know that the energy level is low considering you have such seasoned actors. I'd say give it one more try. -
This is one of those movies I put in the above category. This movie was a put together piece in order to win awards. This movie was NOT meant for the plebeian viewing public, but rather a puff piece so some actors, producers, and the director could get some awards (or more awards). The dead giveaway was the Cannes Film Festival, a big red flag for crappy movies if there ever is one.
The actors seem bored and are just going through the motions of acting. I could do a better job. Hell, the main character is not in most of the scenes! Honestly, I think this movie was put together so some people could get to spend time on the Portuguese Riviera and nothing more.
Don't waste your time on this drivel -
graham-8249111 February 2020I have never seen such unconvincing acting since i saw the school play.
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mmunier18 April 2022I can see many negative reviews and can easily understand why. It is not a fun movie. However It interested me quite a lot because it explores many obscure corners in one's life. This is somehow balanced with a beautiful site. I have not been to Portugal but did enjoy 'being there' for the duration on this story.
It was nice to see Brendan Gleeson whom I did not expect to see in a semi French story... Perhaps you'll appreciate this movie as well. -
kf_gp4 April 2022This film had a few interesting vignettes and some interesting character interactions. I spent the time wondering where it was actually going to go to. The answer was simple - nowhere!
The ending was very peculiar. It was a bit like the the cast just went home for lunch half way through the production and never came back to finish the movie. -
ss124-661-38211122 January 2023This movie is like watching paint dry There is so much dead air in it that I came away thinking the director must have fallen asleep during the filming.
The last five minutes takes the cake for poor direction There's a long shot of a hill with no visible movement and finally you see Jimmy moving down the hill Too many scenes with characters just staring at each other.
Also there are too many holes in the story. Do they ever find the jewelry?
Also way too many characters to keep track of. It takes the first ten minutes of the movie to try to figure them out.
What ever happened to the tour guide.
What happened to Maya's new friend. Did he ever get his surf board back again.
Fade to black. -
bogeyman78627 May 2021Some nice scenic shots throughout (and I'm not talking about Gleeson getting wild in the bedroom) and the time surprisingly went by quickly but a very forgettable movie.
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A very atmospheric, set in Portugal with many beautiful shots of the nature. However, the cinematography has a clear tendency for locked off shots showing us the characters, with little movement. This allows to focus on the words being said. Not the most exciting film, but beautiful to watch and enjoy the atmosphere.
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bregund30 October 2023If they hadn't made this film, it would have been exactly the same. One pointless, stultifying conversation after another between actors you couldn't care less about. I said actors because the veneer of this film has been stripped away, and you're not watching a story; you're not looking at characters, you're looking at actors reciting lines, and not very good ones at that. The actors even look bored, like they don't believe they look convincing to the audience. One of my biggest irritations is when directors film their actors from the back, there's one scene that goes on and on with a woman quarrelling with her daughter, her back is to the viewer the entire time, until I realized that the director is purposely doing this to show his contempt for the viewer, almost as though he's saying "don't watch this film". I'm sure this lamentably soulless film probably won awards when it was released, but if you're just going to show people standing around and talking, the dialogue better pop off the screen. Instead we get this. No sale.
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kwenchow10 September 2020This film start with a woman "Frankie" swimming at the pool, and she talking to a girl "Maya" scene! As turnout, this film is about a series of conversation occur in one day of vacation at Portugal of Frankie with her family and friend! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the riding train scene, overuse of the tourists walking by scene, and overuse of the staring scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Frankie walk away with her husband "Jimmy" after watching the sunset! That's it! Wasting time to watch!
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lee_eisenberg27 December 2021Ira Sachs's "Frankie" could've been a good movie, but they let the scenes run too long, leaving the whole thing dull (just like Terrence Malick's crummy movies).
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anna_gor1 October 2019The film takes place in one day from morning to evening in Sintra, the beautiful city in Portugal. And this beauty of nature opposes to the withering and illness of the main character, emphasizes the transience of life. The main character, a movie star Frankie, who brilliantly played Isabelle Huppert, has cancer and knows that she hasn't long to live. But don't think it's a film about illness and struggle, no. It's different.
Unusual role Huppert for me here. Her character is too quiet, calm, without any strong emotions. I think this Huppert I have not seen in any of her films. And in fact, the main words in "Frankie" are not pronounced, they are read between the lines.
Frankie gathers the whole family to talk about their future life without her, to help solve their problems. And in all these dialogues, no matter how businesslike they are, we feel the great love and longing of people close to each other.
As it may seems, Frankie calmly accepts her illness and her impending death. She doesn't care. But here she accidentally falls on the birthday of her old fan, who turns many years, looks at the cake, candles, joy... And we can see in her eyes all the bitterness and pain that she will not live to such an age. Another great acting job in this movie is Marisa Tomei. She played friend Frankie which arriving in Sintra for this one day with steeply changes her life. At all this one day becomes very important for everyone characters in the movie.
Very beautiful final shot in the mountains at sunset. Frankie stands and looks down at her family and friends. It's like she's not here anymore. But it still looks optimistic, oddly enough. This is due to the skill of the Director. Ira Sachs was able to shoot all the scenes, plans that showed all the unsaid emotions of the characters, their inner world. That is why the theme of the movie is sad, but after watching remains on the contrary a very light feeling and love of life. So for me this film is not about illness and death. This is a film about the beauty around us, how beautiful life is, but we often don't notice it immersed in their small problems.
I recommend watching this movie.