Continuing the theme of Mother's Day, I present one of my three favorite Mother's Day films.
Frankie (played by Jack McElhone) is a nine-year-old who lives with his mum Lizzie (played by Emily Mortimer) and his grandmother Nell (played by Mary Riggans). They have recently moved to Glasgow Scotland. Frankie happens to be deaf and is a "champion lip reader" according to Lizzie. Frankie seems to be adjusting well to the changes in his surroundings.
Frankie regularly writes to his dad who is a sailor. Frankie's dad is not in Frankie's life and the impression is given that Frankie's dad has never been in his life. Frankie's dad does write back or so Frankie thinks. It turns out that Lizzie has been writing to Frankie as Frankie's dad.
Things get complicated when Frankie's best friend reveals that Frankie's dad's ship is due to arrive in Glasgow. Frankie is visibly surprised by this news but tries to brush it off like its nothing. Frankie's friend bets Frankie his stamp collection that Frankie's dad won't show up to an upcoming football game after the ship arrives. Frankie accepts the bet.
After telling his mom about the bet, Lizzie struggles to find a solution to help Frankie. On the one hand, she can come break down and tell Frankie the truth. On the other hand, she wants to help protect her son both from the truth and from being taken advantage of by his friend.
She decides to hire a man to pose as Frankie's dad. After a disastrous attempt at finding a man in a bar, Lizzie's new friend Marie (played by Sharon Small) offers a solution in the form of a guy that she knows. Lizzie is pleasantly surprised and intrigued by The Stranger (played by Gerard Butler) who is Marie's "friend". The Stranger agrees to pose as Frankie's dad and turns out to be a better man than expected for both Lizzie and Frankie.
In the extra features, the director mentioned that she wanted to showcase the beauty of Glasgow and I personally think that she did an excellent job in this film. I love this movie because it shows just how far a parent (in this case a mother) will go to make their child happy and safe. It also shows just how much a child can appreciate their parent(s).
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