Ah, the trials of the wealthy and affluent. Such are the concerns of Frankie, a low-key art film drama about a dying family matriarch and her attempts to bring her clan together over a leisurely holiday in scenic Sintra, Portugal. The sights are lovely, the cast are always interesting to watch and the film may be trying to comment on various problems within the upper classes as well as the lead’s tendency to manipulate those around her, but there isn’t much here to connect with and little reason to truly care about the plight of the characters.
Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is a famous actress with terminal cancer who has decided to recruit her entire family to join her near the Portuguese coast. Attendees include her current husband Jimmy (Brendan Gleeson), daughter Sylvia (Vinette Robinson), son-in-law (Aryion Bakare) and granddaughter (Sennia Nanua), as well as son from another marriage Paul (Jérémie Renier), close friend and make-up artist Ilene (Marisa Tomei), her boyfriend Gary (Greg Kinnear), and even an ex-husband. It’s not exactly convenient timing, as just about everyone in the family is either going through a personal trial of some sort or processing Frankie’s dire prognosis.
It’s a film that primarily cuts between characters having discussions about their work on movie sets, troubled past relationships as well as current personal problems as they stroll through the scenic town. Many visitors don’t even know the specifics of why they’ve been invited, simply running into each other and conversing early in the film. While they’re all friendly, there should be a lot of conflict as it becomes clear that one character is considering a divorce and Frankie seems poised to try and set her troubled son up with her friend Ilene (despite her bringing along a boyfriend). The group try to navigate the difficult scenarios and situation they’ve been put into with as much sensitivity as they can as they contemplate their next steps.
The actors are all fine and, while she isn’t overt about her intentions, Huppert presents her character as concerned for all but direct and calculating in her motives. In fact, Jimmy and many other family members seem very aware of her tricks. It does come across as very odd that for all of her comments about wanting to spend time together, most of her interactions and discussions with individuals occur separately. In fact, the entire group only share the screen at the very close. Anyone expecting a discourse between participants on meeting one’s fate in the vein of 2003’s The Barbarian Invasions won’t find it here. Instead, the general impression is that some around her will likely choose to ignore her wishes. If anything, some of her acts may yield unintended results.
Perhaps we are witnessing a strong woman come to terms with the fact that she can’t control the fates of those around her and maybe the film is even taking a dig at some of the communication problems within an upper-class family unit. Still, that isn’t much of a reason to follow and become involved in their troubles, especially when the movie meanders from person to person and issue to issue. And while much is made early on about a mythic fountain in the region whose water is believed to give life-restoring properties to drinkers, this motif is fairly quickly forgotten and abandoned as the movie focuses on casual conversations.
Although the cast are naturalistic, there still isn’t a whole lot here character-wise to grasp onto besides each performer’s onscreen charm and the pretty surroundings. Frankie takes a beautiful and at times curious stroll, but doesn’t ever really let viewers into the inner lives of the participants and may end up leaving those watching distracted and detached by the time they reach the final destination.