A GREENOCK writer says she is delighted an American critic has rated her movie his favourite of 2005.
Andrea Gibb, who penned the script for Dear Frankie, said she was flattered that David Germain, a writer for the Associated Press agency, had backed the movie.
Germain said he thought the film was underrated and that it was his top movie of 2005 in an article that was sent to newspapers across the US.
The attention should boost DVD sales of the film in time for Christmas.
Dear Frankie was filmed in Inverclyde and set in Greenock and tells the tale of a deaf boy and his mother.
Andrea said: “This guy from Associated Press has named his top 10 films of 2005 and Frankie is number one on his list. It is fantastic, it is really good.
“Whoever he is he has got fantastic taste.
“He is basically making the point that it was overlooked.
“It is very good that he liked it so much. Maybe people will be intrigued enough to buy it.
“It was huge in America and got amazing reviews. I think the Americans really liked it, which is fantastic.
“I was a wee bit disappointed with the British response. But it was in the UGC in Glasgow for five weeks and that is really good and 18 weeks in American cinemas is great. It has lasted and here it is popping up again.”
David Germain said Dear Frankie was “a heart-on-its-sleeve drama of pure decency and inspiration”.
Dear Frankie is about a boy that has been writing to his absent father for as long as he can remember. Lizzie, his mum, played by Emily Mortimer, has told Frankie that his father is working on board a ship called the Accra. In reality, the letters are sent to a post office box and Lizzie herself writes back to Frankie to protect him from the truth.
The film charts the family’s journey as they settle in a new area and Lizzie is forced to hire a stranger to play Frankie’s dad for the day when he discovers the Accra is due to dock at their town.
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This story appeared in the Greenock Telegraph on Sat, 17 Dec, 2005[/i]