Frankie

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

Written and directed by Ira Sachs, with the help of fellow screenwriter Mauricio Zacharias, Frankie is a sprawling family drama that explores the ire of secrecy, impending devastation and the freedoms permitted in the midst of a large family reunion. Sachs is known for his brevity, but in the case of Frankie he takes his time. Set in the beautiful resort town of Sintra, Portugal, three-generations of a rather large and messy family are called upon by their matriarch [the titular Frankie (Isabelle Huppert)] to get lost in the picturesque villas, mend breaking relationships and eventually learn of troubling circumstances.

It’s easy to get lost in the landscape of Frankie with its rolling hills and colorful architecture, but don’t let it distract you from the characters and their tempestuous journeys. Frankie has brought her family to Portugal for a reason, but she plays those cards close to her vest until the final act of the film. Instead, she busies herself with fixing her son Paul (Jérémie Renier) up with her vivacious friend Ilene (Marisa Tomei), who is already being pursued by the puppy dog of a man Gary (Greg Kinnear). Frankie, herself, is also left to deal with the presence of her gay ex-husband Michel (Pascal Greggory), her new husband Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson), Jimmy’s married but unhappy daughter Sylvia (Vinette Robinson) and Sylvia’s her soon-to-be ex-husband Ian (Ariyon Bakare). Ian and Sylvia’s daughter, Maya (Sennia Nanua), is also present – though she disengages from the family hysterics quickly for a trip to the beach. In other words, you need to watch the characters carefully because there are a lot of them and they all get into some kind of trouble. Frankie desperately grasps for the reigns of a family she can no longer wrangle while her husband looks on, simultaneously bemused and broken with his own personal tragedies. Maya manages to avoid the core family drama on her beach getaway, experiencing the adolescent freedoms given to those whose parents are so often too preoccupied with themselves to provide ample supervision.

One of the subtleties of Frankie that amuses, perhaps when it’s not supposed to, is the sense of entitlement shared by all of the vacation goers. The family is made up of Hollywood elites with financial success and public recognition – all of them, including Frankie herself as used to getting what they want, when they want it. This adds another layer of complexity to the film’s plots. As Frankie attempts to pair her son off or ensure that her family is functioning satisfactorily, she just can’t seem to get it right. No amount of money or privilege can fix connections or lives that are fundamentally broken – and this might be the film’s most powerful theme. The entirety of Frankie is powerful. The setting is transportive, beautiful and makes it easy to see how the family and their guests could succumb to the romanticism of it all, shedding inhibitions and spilling truths by a Portugal sunset. The performances are moving, too. Isabelle Huppert rises to the occasion time and time again as the troubled family matriarch – and even when she stumbles, there is grace. Marisa Tomei livens up the scenes that might otherwise flatline and the overall ensemble’s chemistry and compelling performances can easily trick viewers into thinking they are in fact watching a travel diary of a deeply troubled family.

There is a gut punch at the end of Frankie, but the emotional toll is dampened by the third act’s narrative weakness. The film builds and builds, like a pressure cooker rattling, but the steam never quite escapes the chamber in Frankie. Even after the truth comes out for each family member harboring a secret there doesn’t appear to be any resolution. Instead, the characters carry on with their lives, almost complacent with the news they’ve received. If audiences hadn’t gotten to know the family so well over the course of the film it would be easy to accept that the characters had simply embraced the strife, but that doesn’t quite sit right.

Overall, Frankie is good film with great actors, exceptional tension building and a slightly disappointing breaking point. Don’t let ending deter you though – getting to know the flawed, sometimes hysterical family is satiating enough to justify the film’s existence in the collective consciousness.