Review of Dear Frankie (2004) by Alex C — 18 Jan 2009

One more underrated gems of 2005. It's a story about single mother who tries to appease her deaf nine year-old son Frankie by a paying a man to pretend to be Frankie's estranged father. At first, I thought this would be an overwrought Lifetime movie thing, but instead it ground itself in what is a very well-executed, lovely piece of work.

Emily Mortimer gives perhaps her best performance to date as the mother, who just loves her son so much. And Gerard Butler has a nice turn as man paid to be the dad. There are a few times where I burst out into tears in this film, as there are simply some hard-hitting realizations that the characters encounter.

And the scene where Mortimer and Butler simply star in each others eyes at the doorway is one of best pure moments of any movie in the decade.