''Saint Frances'' is a 2019 film, directed by Alex Thompson, written by

Kelly O'Sullivan Kelly O'Sullivan (born 1983/1984) is an American actress, screenwriter and producer. She wrote and starred in '' Saint Frances'' (2019), which won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at 2019 SXSW Film Festival. Biography O'Sullivan w ...

and starring O'Sullivan, Ramona Edith Williams, Charin Alvarez, Lily Mojekwu and Max Lipchitz. The film was nominated for the

Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after ac ...

in 2020.

Plot

Bridget, a 34 year old, gets a job nannying six-year-old Frances. Bridget's unwanted pregnancy and abortion raise many complications.

Cast

as Bridget * Ramona Edith Williams as Frances * Charin Alvarez as Maya * Lily Mojekwu as Annie * Max Lipchitz as Jace *

Jim True-Frost Jim True-Frost (''né'' True; July 31, 1966) is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program ''The Wire'', as James Woodrow in '' Tre ...

as Isaac * Mary Beth Fisher as Carol *

Francis Guinan Francis V. Guinan Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived series ''Eerie, Indiana''. The Council Bluffs, Iowa-born actor h ...

as Dennis * Rebecca Spence as Joan

Release

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Saint Frances'' approaches an array of weighty issues with empathy, humor, and grace -- and marks star and writer Kelly O'Sullivan as a tremendous talent to watch."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "Universal Acclaim". Peter Debruge writing for ''Variety'' wrote, "''Saint Frances'' takes a stand in letting the character figure things out for herself, while illuminating those things — like pregnancy and her period — that she shouldn’t have to". Hau Chu of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote, "O’Sullivan’s script wobbles when the focus shifts from that dynamic". David Rooney of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' wrote, "Thompson's direction and O'Sullivan's screenplay are more often characterized by their light touch than their missteps in a likeable film elevated by its crisp, summery look and warm score".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt9016016 2019 films 2019 comedy-drama films 2010s American films American comedy-drama films Films about abortion 2019 independent films