Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis star in writer-director Alan Ball's "Uncle Frank," a melodrama set in late 1960s/early 1970s about a closeted gay NYU professor and his South Carolina family. I took a trip home to Georgia to come out to my mother,” he said. “I had never heard of him. So, if you have any curiosity about the film, Uncle Frank, then check it out. Uncle Frank works as a professor at NYU which Beth attends later in the movie, but their relationship is that of understanding before the movie dives too far into any plot developments. Soon after arriving, she discovers her uncle is gay and lives with longtime partner Wally. Uncle Frank is an amalgamation of Ball’s own coming out story with that “what if” moment, as it follows Frank Bledsoe’s (Paul Bettany) journey through the eyes of his outsider niece, Betty (Sophia Lillis). Uncle Frank is available to stream Amazon Prime Video from November 25. Required fields are marked *. NEW DEMO Check out 'Buzz - Lifestyle Blog & Magazine WordPress Theme' on. But when Franks father suddenly dies, the trio road trip home to South Carolina for the funeral and the gay man must confront his past. About Uncle Frank. SUBSCRIBE NOW $1 for 3 months. Check out True Story (Live) by The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank on Amazon Music. Although there are moments of despair, it’s mostly an honest portrayal of how a family can both embrace you and tear you down. Teenager Beth leaves her rural Southern hometown for New York City where her uncle Frank, played by Bettany, teaches. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. ©2021 Q News Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. True Blood and Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, who is gay, wrote and directed the new film, which takes place in 1973. Fearing the scorn of their conservative family in their South Carolina hometown, … Uncle Frank better keep his sexuality to himself. Betty's uncle, Frank (played by Paul Bettany), is the black sheep of the family, mostly focusing on his career as a literature professor in New York, but enjoying Betty's company whenever he comes home. And some of the elements are based on real-life truths that writer and director Alan Ball’s family experienced. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com. It’s this year’s “The Report,” another film with a great cast, solid production values, and a true story to entice viewers. Alan Ball wrote and directed Uncle Frank, and it's such a personal story to him. Alan Ball told Entertainment Weekly although the film is not autobiographical, the story is a very personal one. I've been a part of the family for a really long time, but I feel probably like I can relate to Frank a little bit more. In UNCLE FRANK, it's 1973, and Beth (Sophia Lillis) is a college freshman starting at NYU, where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) works as a professor. Amazon’s “ Uncle Frank ” is the more benign of the two, with “Six Feet Under” scribe Alan Ball telling the story of a gay man coming out of the closet in 1970s South Carolina. Uncle Frank takes place in the 1970s, a time when homosexuality was still considered a sin and something that people should be outcast from society for being gay. Uncle Frank is a story, based on a true reality, which Amazon has recently released and the power of the film felt too overwhelming not to write about. True Blood and Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, who is gay, wrote and directed the new film, which takes place in 1973. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Uncle Frank is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Alan Ball.The film stars Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis.Set in the 1970s, Uncle Frank is a road movie about a gay man who confronts his past. The era is the early 1970s, and their family’s southern roots mean only one thing. Ball is back again with the film Uncle Frank. Frank remembers his first adolescent love and the way his father treated him when he was young and impressionable. A gay professor and his niece depart New York in 1973 to return to South Carolina, where they were raised, for a painful family reunion. “When I was 33 years old, I was living in New York City. Deep down, nobody really likes or respects a snitch; he was not a snitch out of any altruistic motive. “What if it was true? For instance, Glen Weldon from NPR says, “Everything about Uncle Frank feels oddly impatient; characters like Frank, Beth and the rest of the family get frog-marched through their respective growth arcs before individual moments along the way have a chance to resonate.” And in another breath, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian says, “Uncle Frank doesn’t have the witty indirectness of American Beauty or Ball’s TV classic Six Feet Under, but it has a strong and very convincing performance from Bettany.” So, the reviews are mixed, but to each their own. 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I am Frank's sister-in-law, so I'm a little bit of an outsider in the family too. In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover, Walid. “And she surprised me by saying, ‘Well, I blame your father for this because I think he was that way too.'”. She told me, ‘He was a real, real, real, good friend of your daddy’s.’. Copyrights © 2019 The Garnette Report. Your email address will not be published. Instead of ending on a tragic note, Uncle Frank gives perspective and hope that his family will accept him even if others won’t. Uncle Frank – Official Trailer | Prime Video Lillis stars as Beth, a teen who adores her big city Uncle Frank (Bettany). She finds a kindred spirit in her uncle Frank ( Paul Bettany ), a New York University professor whose thoughtful demeanor and smart fashion sense set him apart from the rest of the Bledsoe clan, including his macho father … Virgil Abloh Launches Radio Show on Apple Music, NORDSTROM EXPANDS IN NEW YORK CITY WITH OPENING OF FLAGSHIP STORE. “The next day, we were driving and she mentioned the name Sam Lassiter,” he said. In 1973, teenaged Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) leaves her rural Southern hometown to study at New York University where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is a revered literature professor. It was a very sad end [for him],” he said. Margot Robbie and John Lithgow co-star. The best of the Premieres I saw in Park City over the first couple days of Sundance 2020 is Sara Colangelo’s “Worth,” the story of the legal team tasked with convincing grieving families to sign up for the September 11 th Victim Compensation Fund. All Rights Reserved. Brands Offering FREE SHIPPING and Discount Codes to Those Who Are Stuck Inside! Advertisements. “So he would be let past the pearly gates, in his own head. As those who have seen the film will know, it … For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. And while this sounds like a rapidly declining situation, Uncle Frank is unlike movies of it’s kind. Soon after arriving, she discovers her uncle is gay and lives with longtime partner Wally. Tragedy and comedy combine in the new Thanksgiving film, Uncle Frank, which will be out through Amazon Video on November 25.Written and directed by Alan Ball (True Blood), the story follows Frank Bledsoe as he confronts the demons of his past when he heads home for his father’s funeral.Ball and the film’s star, Paul Bettany, recently chatted with Screen Rant about the personal … Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. What would that have done for his life?”. Uncle Frank is not all kindness and positivity, but in a roundabout way creates a validity to living your true self. The next year, his second hit TV show, True Blood, premiered on HBO. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Betty admires her Uncle Frank, who fails to conform to the stereotypes of the 1970s men she watches around her. The story begins in the late 60s in South Carolina, a young girl Beth clings to her Uncle Frank- the only adult who looked her in the eye- among a rather large family. Teenager Beth leaves her rural Southern hometown for New York City where her uncle Frank, played by Bettany, teaches. Uncle Frank ( 2,472 ) IMDb 7.3 1 h 34 min 2020 X-Ray HDR UHD R In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid. Thane, who was a Catholic, went on to lose his longtime partner when he was in his early 80s. Paul Bettany. Ball bequeaths his family’s now mythic story of a drowning to a character who, as an adult, is at war with himself. Uncle Frank is a story, based on a true reality, which Amazon has recently released and the power of the film felt too overwhelming not to write about. For instance, his struggles with alcoholism are apparent. But once Bettany heard Alan Ball tell his own story, he realised both men “wanted to put things right” with the project. Ron Chepesiuk, author of Superfly: The True, Untold Story of Frank Lucas, American Gangster, said the idea that "Lucas turned in only corrupt cops is an effort by Tinsel Town to soften Lucas' image as a snitch. Pulling on Ball’s own upbringing in Georgia in the 1970s, “Uncle Frank” stars Paul Bettany (known to the masses as Vision in “The Avengers” films) as … “I felt it would be beautiful to make a story [asking] what if he’d been able to come to terms with himself? If my review hasn’t convinced you then check out the trailer here. The story begins in the late 60s in South Carolina, a young girl Beth clings to her Uncle Frank- the only adult who looked her in the eye- among a rather large family. Shortly into the movie, it is revealed that Frank is gay and is committed to his partner of ten years, Wally. Uncle Frank took form as a moving coming-out story, highlighting the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction on a gay man growing up in the South in the ’50s. It was released on November 25, 2020, by Amazon Studios Upon learning of a party that Frank is throwing, she arrives and soon discovers that Frank is a gay man in a serious relationship with a man named Walid (Peter Macdissi). As this unfolds, both Beth and Wally are there for Frank, but he unravels quickly. The Gist: Betty (Sophia Lillis) and her uncle Frank (Bettany) are the black sheep of the Bledsoe family. 'Six Feet Under' and 'True Blood' creator Alan Ball's 'Uncle Frank' is an Amazon Prime movie starring Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis released Nov. 25. It’s there that she learns Uncle Frank is a closeted gay man, one who fears sharing his true feelings with his family. Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis Rapper The Hxliday Releases New Single “Batgirl”, Motown’s Visual Release for Emanuel New Ballad, Stefflon Don “Can’t Let You Go” Remix Release, PH5’s F/W 21 Collection Features Its First CGI Model, New Florida Bill Requires Minors To Receive Parental Consent For Abortions. Director Alan Ball and actor Paul Bettany reimagine their own family histories in new movie Uncle Frank, about a closeted gay man coming out in the 1970s. The film, which premiered at Sundance in January, is out on Amazon Prime. Lois, you've worked with him on True Blood in the past. Can you blame him? Loosely inspired by his family’s roots in Marietta, Georgia, Uncle Frank is a tender look at a closeted gay man in the 1970s (played by Paul Bettany) who returns home for his father’s funeral. Lead actor Paul Bettany said his own late father, dancer-actor Thane Bettany, came out to him at age 63. “It gave me pause to do [the film] because I would have to confront some of the consequences of his struggle with his own identity that reverberated into my own.”. Your email address will not be published. Amazon Prime is streaming Uncle Frank, free of charge, to its members right now. Paul Bettany is “Uncle Frank ... (2019, R), based on the true story of the toxic atmosphere of Fox News. The movie has received both negative and positive reviews from critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 78%. Lin Manuel Miranda and Pearl Jam Join Forces for Georgia Senate Runoffs Fundraiser. “Then he went back into the closet just before he died,” Bettany said. They’re kindred spirits, and she leans on his cosmopolitan spirit when she goes off to college. The one who despises him is his father whose unexpected death leads Frank to relive some of the most tragic times in his life. Beth’s Uncle Frank is tortured by his past and by the memories of a hostile, unaccepting father. And no one in Frank’s family is aware besides a couple of family members-one who accepts and another who despises him because of it. Written and directed by Ball, “Uncle Frank” follows Beth Bledsoe (played by Sophia Lillis), a young woman eager to escape small-town South Carolina in the early 1970s. Ball said he was unsure if it was true and doesn’t want to out his late father, but he never forgot the conversation. The story of Uncle Frank was also inspired by the time Alan’s mother revealed to him that his father might have been gay. This tragic thing happening so early in their lives that Frank would have to deal with for the rest of his life?”. He’s refined and droll where her South Carolina clan is oversized and crude. “Later, I found out that my dad had accompanied Sam’s body on a train back to their hometown.