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Saint Frances

2019

Alex Thompson

Kelly O'Sullivan, Ramona Edith-Williams, Lily Mojekwu, Charin Alvarez ...

6.2

771

Comedy. Drama At the start of the summer, Bridget has an abortion just as she lands a much-needed job in an affluent Chicago suburb - nannying a six-year old. With no time to recover, she clashes with the obstinate Frances and struggles to navigate a growing tension between Frances’ moms. As her personal relationships suffer, a reluctant friendship with Frances emerges, and Bridget contends with the inevitable joys and shit-shows of becoming a part of someone else’s family. [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"A movie that really snuck up on me and walloped me emotionally in the final scenes in ways I wasn’t expecting (...) The authenticity of the entire production is remarkable"
		Beatrice Loayza AV Club	"'Saint Frances' goes down easy. It’s refreshingly small and intimate, and is specific on the lives of very particular women without overreaching to look more politically salient or strike zeitgeist concerns."
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"Of note for its nonjudgmental stance on abortion and its normalizing treatment of queer parenting, though not immune to occasional heavy-handedness or caricature"
		Sarah Marloff Austin Chronicle	"[It] takes a charming and honest look at pregnancy"
		Jeannette Catsoulis The New York Times	"Some scenes can feel forced and even a little hectoring (...) Others, though, are so modestly insightful — and the performers so appealingly natural — that we forgive the occasional heavy hand."
		Amelia Emberwing SlashFilm	"[It] grabs women by the face and tells them in a fierce but supportive whisper that they’re not alone"
		Pat Brown Slant	"It has almost enough genuine charm and heart to compensate for the moments that feel forced (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Christopher Schobert The Film Stage	"A smart, sweet, and funny feature. It marks Thompson as a filmmaker to watch and O'Sullivan as an actor and screenwriter with an extremely promising future."
		Elizabeth Weitzman The Wrap	"The movie’s most notable asset is the way it resists sketching any of its main characters with a single, easy-to-grasp definition"
		Peter Debruge Variety	"O'Sullivan delivers a revolutionary overhaul of how women are depicted on-screen in this winning indie comedy"
		Mark Kermode The Guardian	"A vibrant and emotionally engaging tale that dresses its subversive self-determination manifesto in the clothes of a ditzy, bittersweet comedy about midlife disappointment (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Chris Waywell Time Out	"A series of perfectly landed psychological points about identity, responsibility, dreams and reality (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Fionnuala Halligan Screendaily	"[It] is a showcase for O’Sullivan as an actor and a writer. She’s got an easy, if disaffected, warmth as the film’s lead and scales her performance appropriately over the range of situations her character finds itself in"

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