Saint Frances, written by and starring Kelly O’Sullivan - 9.6 out of 10

Saint Frances, written by and starring Kelly O’Sullivan

9.6 out of 10

What a fantastic, fresh, at times outré, captivating, emotional, amusing, creative, original to the point of causing some distress motion picture this is, launching a very interesting new star, Kelly O’Sullivan, the writer and actress in the leading role, that of Bridget, for what is an appreciated film so far and if this gets more traction, then we could envisage seeing the extremely talented protagonist go far and challenge traditions at Hollywood.

Bridget is one of the complicated personages that represent the new generation, though she argues with her sex partner – when he talks about ‘their relationship’ she retorts that there is ‘no relationship’ and thus I am forced to avoid saying her boyfriend, lover or something of the kind – that the does not play with the ‘millenials’, she is on the cusp…her views though could be assessed as quite liberal – she herself uses that label – and she could also identify with the ‘progressives’, though this viewer hopes she is not a Bernie supporter – for one who has ‘enjoyed’ and still does get the effects of the Moscow – where the old socialist has spent his honeymoon, in the days of the Soviet union no less, without edifying him of what leftist doctrines bring about – imposed system, the under signed refutes the leftist doctrines absolutely…especially the extreme ones, Biden seems to be alright, and anyway a thousand times better that the fool who is running the show now, just like in the days when he was a game show host…

She is a server in a  restaurant and this cinephile was feeling awkward about the fact that she seemed somehow ‘superior’, much above the education needed for that position, given that she is thirty-four – it sounds fine for someone to be waiter with an advanced education, on the way to the position for which she or he is qualified, but to serve tables and have a degree in astronomy sounds awful…my daughter works as a waitress – well, she had done before this terrible pandemic – but this while she is learning to get a degree in the tourism business, which is in such a free fall alas…

The heroine is applying for a job as a nanny, while having a casual sexual encounter with a younger, sometimes strange man, Jace, which unexpectedly results in a pregnancy, that he wants to talk about – “shall we explore the options”- but she is much more mature – not in years, but in gravitas, understanding, emotional and ‘traditional Intelligence – wise, has the ability to see that in their circumstances, with their financial challenges, parenthood is not really an option …though this would change perhaps, once she will have met and proved she has the stamina, courage, grit, empathy, resilience to hold on in the company  of…

Saint Frances

Frances is the six years old that the would be nanny will be supposed to guard, entertain, prevent from drowning, having an accident and keep from all other dangers that are out there, if she passes the examination in front of the two mothers, Maya and Annie, a lesbian couple that wants to know if Bridget has had extensive experience as a baby sitter and she does not have, when she mentions her younger brother there is again an appearance of failure, for she has not connected with him and it looks like she is not really the best to handle the task…

Indeed, once she is installed, for the previous woman has just committed some unacceptable act, it looks like we might be Flirting With Disaster, a very amusing comedy written and directed by David O. Russell, who is a talented film maker, but from what actors have stated he is a terrible human being - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/flirting-with-disaster-written-and.html  - and we see that little Frances might be too much to take, both for the poor heroine and for the audience, at least for this viewer, who was thinking Jesus! This is impossible to control…

Admittedly, the inexperienced Bridget makes some mistakes that could have had more serious consequences, such as when she rattles the pram which the little girl enjoys, but she forgets to put the security belt and then the child falls on the ground, only to rush up to Maya, once they arrive home and complain that the nanny has thrown her to the ground…later on, during some seconds which the guardian angel spends on her smart phone, Devilish Frances falls or jumps into a nearby pond, making the woman shout and then a runner has to interfere and get the child out of the water, in which the desolate nanny has to immerse to get the sandals for her tormentor…

Maya is aghast to see this new accident happen and she tells the nanny that ‘a mother has to look at the child all the time and even if she said it was just a second, it is inadmissible’…words to that effect, but quite soon, the depressive, desolate mother will get important help from Bridget, who takes the infant son, the brother of Frances, in her arms and he is soothed, while strangely he keeps crying when his own mother takes him…she complains and we see that whenever she approaches him, the son is in maximum agitation…

There is one freakish aspect that this cinephile was taken aback to hear, when the heroine and Jace have sex, the next morning there is blood all over the bed and…on the man’s face, which provokes some awkward dialogue, about the fact that she did not know, which he says it is all right he never witnessed anything wrong, she tasted well – or some other similar comment – making her refer to the…

Bloodhounds…which apparently are men who like this sort of – what shall we call it – extreme experience, going for ‘the period’ with delight (!)

Blood is a recurring element, for the main character – I still think of Bridget as the leading personage, though the film is called Saint Frances and indeed, after the first few nasty clashes, this girl becomes Seraphic, Wonderful, angelic and a Joy to watch – suffers from some complications and she is bleeding often…at one time, Frances takes some blood –stained underwear from her hand and runs to Maya with them (!)  and then the latter is talking about her own incontinence, following the pregnancy and the two women eventually bond and become friends…

Saint Frances is a wonderful film at any time, but it may be especially rewarding at this Time of the Virus…