Uncle Frank Is a Full Feast of Family Drama

It’s perhaps too fitting that Amazon decided to release Uncle Frank the day before Thanksgiving. Here’s a film filled loaded with awkward dread about coming home to a family that may not accept you and that familiar anxiety of trying to contain the truth while conservative relatives prattle on about their values, roping you into the conversation to suggest you’re on the same team. Coming to streaming at a time when many will not be having a family Thanksgiving at all due to the current pandemic, it’s surprising how this film longs more for the love of family than the bitterness of rejection.

Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis star in Uncle Frank. Brownie Harris/Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) narrates her tale of growing into adulthood in the 1970s, shifting from a girl of the South making secret explorations to an entranced writer of New York City. Most of her family isn’t too keen on the move, but her uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is more than understanding. He not only welcomes her into the New York campus he teaches at but is willing to help her out with anything. While she’s still at home, he lets her in on family secrets and makes a serious vow that he can get her birth control without her family knowing. They have a unique trust in each other, given how much Frank is willing to look out for Beth.

Two shocking revelations come to Beth within 24 hours of her New York City stay. First, she learns why Frank has been the black sheep of the family: he’s been hiding his homosexuality and living in secret with his boyfriend, Wally (Peter Macdissi). The few times that Frank has let his family into his home, it was under the lie of a woman assuming the role of his girlfriend. It’s understandable considering how judgmental Frank’s brother Mike (Steve Zahn) can be—the “girlfriend” tests the waters by mentioning she’s Jewish, to which Mike uncomfortably responds, “At least you’re not black.” Frank can only imagine how his brother would react to a Muslim boyfriend.

Brownie Harris/Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The second revelation is that both Frank and Beth learn of the tragic passing of Frank’s father, Mac (Stephen Root). It becomes clear that Frank still has baggage related to his dad and is absolutely dreading coming home to say his final goodbyes. He would rather not subject Wally to the family, but how could his devoted lover leave him in such pain? As they road-trip back to South Carolina, dark memories start to surface, which brings Frank back to old addictions and bitter hatred of himself.

The ensemble here is pretty astounding for the characters they’re given, from Margo Martindale playing an enduringly loving mother to Lois Smith as the grandma who can talk your ear off. However, Bettany steals the show with a remarkable performance. He has such a strong presence when in New York, never intimidated by young amateurs and willing to be open with his niece more than any other family member. But his return to South Carolina finds him shaken, downing bottles of booze to get through the service and hoping nobody finds him out. This isn’t easy, as a few people around town already look down on him as a city boy. The more truth that comes out amid his return, the more visibly uncomfortable he becomes, unable to keep his massive glasses on his nose with his unsteady hand.

Remembering: young Frank (Cole Doman) and his dad (Stephen Root). Brownie Harris/Courtesy of Amazon Studios

The third act of this film is a roller-coaster of emotions, going from darkly vicious to lovingly accepting. In one scene, there’s a harsh revelation among the family and such a grim backstory that unfolds because of it that Frank could well have curled up into a ball and died of past guilt. Yet he continues on with the understanding of Wally, who is simultaneously struggling to keep up the front of lying to his own parents in the Middle East that he’ll one day find a wife. He feels even more alone than Frank, confiding secretly in phone calls home and tearing up over a family he can never see because of the harsh antigay laws in his home country. And then there’s Beth, played with wide-eyed empathy by Lillis, who soon learns to be strong enough for a more progressive world. This part of her becomes quite a pleasant surprise when she tells off a mechanic making a sexist pass at her.

The family members’ feelings on gay people run the gamut. Some of them seem to have no problem, some are openly homophobic, and some have odd ways of showing sympathy (“My hairdresser is gay”). There’s an especially palpable moment when one family member prattles on about gay people kinda-sorta being human, sprinkled with aged racism and the idea of gay people going to hell. Frank merely smiles, knowing that this is the best defense they have.

Lois Smith and Margo Martindale as Aunt Butch and Mammaw. Brownie Harris/Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Writer/director Alan Ball has taken great care to craft a picture full of characters that feel fully dimensional, to the point where even a bookending Judy Greer feels as though she has an arc all her own. In the same way that he posed tragic yet flawed characters in American Beauty, Ball evokes a heavy dose of personality for his characters so that we’re not merely watching the sentimental sparring of the urban gays versus the Southern homophobes. Family is always kept in focus, stressing how the strongest of units will be there for each other regardless of sexual orientation. That may seem like a tall order for a drama of the 1970s South, but Ball’s on-point writing and tender direction makes one want to believe there’s room for redemption and understanding at the holiday dinner table.