My Mother Frank
Directed by Mark Lamprell.
The word that initially springs to mind after watching this first feature from writer-director Mark Lamprell is sincere. It is an honest film about honest feelings. Despite occasional exaggerations to make the characters potentially larger than life, they are all quite real.
Frank (Sinead Cusack) is a 51 year-old mother of two who has created a safe and secure world for herself after her husband’s death. She is a devout Catholic and displays quirky behaviour when her prayers aren’t answered by Mary Magdalen. Her prim and proper daughter (played by Sacha Horler, who makes this small role memorable) comes over for visits but it is from the perspective of her 18 year-old son David (Matthew Newton) that the story is told. He still lives at home and, as he constantly notices how bored she is, urges Frank to do something with her life. Which she does. She enrolls in a degree at the same university that he attends. Let’s just say, David is not impressed.
Even though she studies hard, Frank soon finds herself in trouble with her strict but ultimately human professor (Sam Neill). Through her struggles, Frank becomes an inspiration to those around her who want to change their lives but are afraid to take the chance.
The interaction between mother and son is intense and both Cusack and Newton give fine performances. So the film isn’t just Frank’s coming-of-age story, it is also David’s — as he finds love and also the courage to proclaim it. His story is one that we have seen many times before, but the fact that it is intertwined with Frank’s makes the film more interesting.
One of the reasons why My Mother Frank comes across as so unaffected and — well, frank — is probably that Lamprell developed the script over ten years, from his own childhood experiences. It manages quite well to tread the fine line between comedy and tragedy, without falling too deeply into the sentimentality trap in the middle.
Sol
