"Saint Frances" brings the story of Bridget. As the movie opens, Bridget, a 34 yr. old waitress, is at a party and gets to know a 26 yr.old guy who also works as a server. They hit it off and next we know, they are living together. Bridget desperately wants to do something with her life, and she applies for a full-time nanny position to take care of a 6 yr. old girl named Frances (but everyone calls her Franny). Franny is more than a handful. Then one day, Bridget discovers that she is pregnant, and wonders what to do... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of director Alex Thompson, in a movie written by and starring Kelly O'Sullivan, also making her feature length debut (as a writer). This team aims to bring us a comedy with a lot of deep and deeply personal issues (and I mean a whole lot more than nannying a 6 yr. old). Because the movie is so plot-heavy, I really don't want to go into further details as to these deep and deeply personal issues, although I do wonder whether O'Sullivan has lived through some of these issues herself. "I'm not an impressive person", laments Bridget at one point (after another screw-up on her part). This surely is not a reflection of O'Sullivan, who is quite impressive in what amounts to a coming-out party. I'm quite certain that Hollywood has taken notice and that we have not seen the last of her, not by a long shot. that said, the movie is not without flaws. There were a couple of narratives that were built up and then... went nowhere (literally disappeared from the film). Kudos to Quinn Tsan, who composed the soundtrack with a bunch of delightful indie tunes.
"Saint Frances" premiered at last year's SXSW festival to immediately acclaim, and is currently rated 98% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film finally was released in theaters in late February. It opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (7 people but keep in mind that the coronavirus was declared a national emergency this weekend). If you are in the mood for a very indie (and frank) movie about personal relationship issues, or simply want to discover the up-and-coming talent that is Kelly O'Sullivan, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of director Alex Thompson, in a movie written by and starring Kelly O'Sullivan, also making her feature length debut (as a writer). This team aims to bring us a comedy with a lot of deep and deeply personal issues (and I mean a whole lot more than nannying a 6 yr. old). Because the movie is so plot-heavy, I really don't want to go into further details as to these deep and deeply personal issues, although I do wonder whether O'Sullivan has lived through some of these issues herself. "I'm not an impressive person", laments Bridget at one point (after another screw-up on her part). This surely is not a reflection of O'Sullivan, who is quite impressive in what amounts to a coming-out party. I'm quite certain that Hollywood has taken notice and that we have not seen the last of her, not by a long shot. that said, the movie is not without flaws. There were a couple of narratives that were built up and then... went nowhere (literally disappeared from the film). Kudos to Quinn Tsan, who composed the soundtrack with a bunch of delightful indie tunes.
"Saint Frances" premiered at last year's SXSW festival to immediately acclaim, and is currently rated 98% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film finally was released in theaters in late February. It opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (7 people but keep in mind that the coronavirus was declared a national emergency this weekend). If you are in the mood for a very indie (and frank) movie about personal relationship issues, or simply want to discover the up-and-coming talent that is Kelly O'Sullivan, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.