by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
UNCLE FRANK from Prime Video has a trio of your favorite character actors, the remarkable Lois Smith from MINORITY REPORT, Stephen Root who was also scared in NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and the always amazing Margo Martindale. Add in Judy Greer, plus Steve Zahn; but it’s Paul Bettany from the Avengers franchise that shows up this Thanksgiving as the titular Uncle Frank. In this Alan Ball movie, there are a lot of autobiographic hints as he is from The South and charts this storyline from experience with a deft light hand.
Bettany is backed up by newcomer Sophie Lillis, and his significant counterpart Peter Macdissi in what can be viewed as a love triangle about family values, and who values family most.
Alan Ball is known for TV series “True Blood” and the iconic AMERICAN BEAUTY. He is also one of the most revered and respected showrunners and directors in Hollywood, whose creativity and vision really inform his projects.
Watch UNCLE FRANK in his Southern Gothic dilemma
Official on UNCLE FRANK from Prime – In 1973, teenaged Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) leaves her rural Southern hometown to study at New York University where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is a revered literature professor. She soon discovers that Frank is gay, and living with his longtime partner Walid “Wally” Nadeem (Peter Macdissi) — an arrangement that he has kept secret for years. After the sudden death of Frank’s father — Beth’s grandfather — Frank is forced to reluctantly return home for the funeral with Beth in tow, and to finally face a long-buried trauma that he has spent his entire adult life running away from.
Written and Directed by: (the incredibly talented Mr.) Alan Ball
Cast: Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, Peter Macdissi, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn, Lois Smith, with Margo Martindale and Stephen Root
As mentioned, Amazon Studios will release UNCLE FRANK on Prime Video Nov. 25th, 2020, aka this first-ever Socially Distanced Thanksgiving.
Find out more here .
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