the whole thing struck me as pleasant, nicely judged, and unremarkable, right up to a final shot so graceful and moving that it sent waves of poignancy backwards through the movie
Sachs' meandering, slow-to-develop & slower-to-finish family drama; the film somehow lacks the structural cogency necessary to support a compelling narrative, while also encompassing enough discernible plot conventions to reveal a screenwriter's meddling
it is a heartfelt and modest work but an oddly languid one, a movie that asks the viewer to dig beneath the awkward, stilted topsoil of uneasy family reunion and find the tangled roots beneath
Ira Sachs' new movie, "Frankie", may the closest that anyone has come to making an American version of an Eric Rohmer film; made with immaculate craftsmanship; and in its placid way, wants to deliver a tug of revelation of what life is about
Ira Sachs' gorgeous and tender Portugal-set drama shows a side of Isabelle Huppert you've never seen before; Huppert has certainly given broader and more exciting performances, but none have ever felt quite this close
alongside the magnetic Isabelle Huppert in a role that draws with equal grace from her well of dry humor, flinty intelligence, diva hauteur and internalized sorrow, there are affecting moments to savor also from a solid ensemble cast
a blank, uneasy, pointless, variably acted multinational production, inertly set in the picturesque Portuguese city of Sintra – which is shot handsomely enough but with no special flair; Sachs is such a talented film-maker, but this is a baffling misst
by Peter Bradshaw [The Guardian ]
