This year’s Heartland Film Festival winners celebrate the positive values of life. But the fare isn’t always kid-friendly.
‘Dear Frankie’
***1/2
A fiercely protective mother (Emily Mortimer) concocts an elaborate lie to shield her deaf son from the truth about his father. Telling him his dad is at sea, she intercepts Frankie’s letters and replies to them. But when the ship his father is supposedly on comes into port, the ruse becomes even more complex when Frankie’s mother recruits a sailor to pretend he’s Frankie’s father. Set in Glasgow, this tender, emotionally complex and heartfelt tale of a mother’s love and a son’s wisdom is skillfully directed by first-timer Shona Auerbach. Jack McElhone convincingly plays 9-year-old Frankie, while Gerard Butler (tough as nails in “Lara Croft”) shows a vulnerable side as the sailor who steps in to fill a father’s shoes.