A quiet, restrained narrative where secrets are exposed in the 1970s-set family drama. 18 year-old Beth escapes her redneck South Carolina home life to study at the New York college where her uncle Frank teaches.
Having been encouraged by her uncle to follow her dreams, Beth (Sophia Lillis) surprises him by arriving in New York. The closeted Frank (Paul Bettany) is forced into honesty with his niece on her meeting his lover, Wally (Peter Macdissi). News of the death of Frank Senior (Stephen Root) sees a road trip like no other as the three head south and the bigotry of small-town homesville.
Cute with the occasional barb and a few tragic secrets, Uncle Frank is a wry, nuanced, unchallenging feature that, if nothing else, is hard to dislike.
Rating: 62%
Director: Alan Ball ((Towelhead, TV’s Six Feet Under)
Writer: Alan Ball (American Beauty, TV’s True Blood)
Main cast: Paul Bettany (The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Margin Call), Sophia Lillis (It, Asteroid City), Peter Macdissi (Towelhead, The Losers)
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