Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2020. The end result is a film that is softly moving, immensely charming and bittersweetly emotive. In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. Uncle Frank made me wish I'd been more like Sophia Lillis' Beth. Movie Review. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. 18. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. He lived in New York City, for one thing—a place so far removed from Creekville, South Carolina, that for 14-year-old Betty Bledsoe, it might as well have been Shangri La. |, January 3, 2021 The surprise highlight of the film is Frank's lover Wally (Peter Macdissi) who wants more family so much that he's willing to risk much more than even Frank. Early in the proceedings, the supporting players, while not particularly well-developed, at least draw Copyright © Fandango. If you're into Sleepy Time Down South cliches, it goes down like that first mint julep of spring - refreshing and redolent of a time thankfully past, but for all its ugliness, formative in ways that only passing years make clear. It would be a pleasure to hail Uncle Frank, a comedy-drama road movie set … ‘Uncle Frank’: Film Review Paul Bettany plays a closeted gay man forced to come out to his Southern family in Alan Ball's accomplished '70s-set drama. (Uncle Frank can have a little substance abuse storyline, as a treat.) Uncle Frank (2,504) IMDb 7.3 1 h 34 min 2020 X-Ray HDR UHD R In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for … We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. REELING IS A PROUD MEMBER OF… Laura and Robin's reviews are also featured on Rotten Tomatoes , the Movie Review Query Engine , and the IMDB . 4.6 out of 5. At times too broad and at others too maudlin-which is to say, quintessentially Alan Ball-Uncle Frank is a welcome twist on the coming out film. Audience Reviews for Uncle Frank 2d ago Everyone needs an Uncle Frank, but everyone deserves an Uncle Wally. There are solid points along the way, and it's beautifully played by a terrific cast. Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis star in writer-director Alan Ball's "Uncle Frank," a melodrama set in late 1960s/early 1970s about a closeted gay NYU professor and his South Carolina family. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2020. Alan Ball's Uncle Frank is rife with potential, but in rushing the catharsis it fails to engage the viewer, and Frank remains as unknowable to us as he was in the beginning. Alan Ball. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! |. It’s also the point at which the film loses interest in subtlety. People: Paul Bettany. |, January 27, 2021 Read critic reviews. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Just confirm how you got your ticket. Uncle Frank is fated to become the green bean casserole of this holiday's film streaming options: designed to appeal to everyone, but destined to remain uneaten. It's highly recommended because it's a great movie that deserves better recognition and 'Uncle Frank': Film Review | Sundance 2020. Having escaped his small-town existence, he’s been shacking up with Wally (Peter Macdissi), an immigrant from Saudi Arabia.It’s 1969, and the narrator of our story, Beth (Sophia Lillis), has found a kindred spirit in her fellow family outcast. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. While Uncle Frank’s 95-minute runtime makes for a welcome pace, it all wraps up too quickly and neatly, Ball reaching for a pleasingly optimistic ending that doesn’t feel fully earned. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Uncle Frank looks good, has a nice enough script from Alan Ball, and a collective cast that makes it tolerable. See All Buying Options. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Sign up here. Uncle Frank movie reviews & Metacritic score: In 1973, teenaged Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) leaves her rural Southern hometown to study at New York University where her beloved Uncle Frank … Alas, that’s not quite the movie we get, as “Uncle Frank” begins to veer toward mawkish self-parody as soon as Frank gets word that his father has died of a heart attack. Uncle Frank wears its heart on its sleeve, and that works for a while. Parents need to know that Uncle Frank is a dramedy in which a gay man named Frank (Paul Bettany) and his 18-year-old niece drive from New York City to their South Carolina hometown to attend his father's funeral. | Rating: 3/5 How are ratings calculated? I didn't have a chance to speak to my uncle before he passed due both to unreconciled family drama and his deteriorating health. |, November 27, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/4 Uncle Frank Energy Services. 'Uncle Frank' screens at AFI FEST and streaming on Amazon Prime starting Nov. 25. Yet, as the movie goes on, it becomes so sweet and saccharine, you just wind up with a toothache. Macdissi's funny, warm and emotionally authentic Wally is crucial to the film's successful aspects. 39 likes. Everyone needs an Uncle Frank, but everyone deserves an Uncle Wally. Regal I wish I'd talked to him enough to know he was hurting or hiding something, but I never bothered to ask - I never made a point to consider his life outside of what it meant to my own. 1... secondly it's really funny. Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis in Uncle Frank Photo: Amazon Studios. Uncle Frank was always different. The movie is set in 1973, and Frank hasn't come out to his conservative family. Yet, as the movie goes on, it becomes so sweet and saccharine, you just wind up with a toothache. Uncle Frank: Movie Clip - We Can Take Turns Driving. | Rotten (27). I thought this is the best performance [Paul Bettany's] given since Gangster No. Uncle Frank is gay and living in New York City. Forgot your password? Alan Ball’s Uncle Frank smothers a great performance with lazy condescension. Writer/Director Alan Ball's Uncle Frank is obviously a very personal story as it is somewhat based on his own father's experiences, but what makes the film so transcendent is how as much as I was invested in the drama of the characters on screen, Ball's film made me look deep inside my own soul and reflect on shortcomings that hadn't even occurred to me until experiencing his film. |, November 29, 2020 |, December 1, 2020 It wasn't until 2013 at the age of twenty-six that I realized my own uncle had been keeping a secret from his family for what was at least my entire life and probably much longer. After the sudden death of Frank's father -- Beth’s grandfather -- Frank is forced to reluctantly return home for the funeral with Beth in tow, and to finally face a long-buried trauma that he has spent his entire adult life running away from. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. An evocative slice of retro Americana and a highly entertaining road movie. In UNCLE FRANK, it's 1973, and Beth (Sophia Lillis) is a college freshman starting at NYU, where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) works as a professor. Uncle Frank revolves around Uncle Frank, and Bettany's career-great performance as a man who knows where the gaps are in his life, and how much his whole relationship with his family is about holding his breath. Also Margo Martindale. Summary: In 1973, teenaged Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) leaves her rural Southern hometown to study at New York University where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is a revered literature professor. | Rating: 2.5/4 Coming Soon, Regal We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. |, November 26, 2020 and the Terms and Policies, If you're into Sleepy Time Down South cliches, it goes down like that first mint julep of spring - refreshing and redolent of a time thankfully past, but for all its ugliness, formative in ways that only passing years make clear.