Ultimately, Ball would like “Uncle Frank” to impart an overriding “message of hopefulness, acceptance and coexistence” that can be read as an antidote to the tumult of 2020. Catch a sneak peek at “Uncle Frank” via the clip above. Uncle Frank review – top form Paul Bettany lifts phony Alan Ball drama 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. Ball, a Georgia native, based the screenplay for “Uncle Frank” on a conversation he’d had with his mother 30 years ago, shortly after he came out as gay. She loves when her Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany), a professor, comes to visit from New York City, as he’s the only one who talks to her like a real person. In the film, Bettany’s character must take his niece’s advice and come out as gay to his family, which mirrors the life of the actor’s own father, who came out when he was 63. Uncle Frank is the brand new Amazon Unique Film written and directed by Alan Ball. While Uncle Frank is more nuanced at times than you might expect, its messaging can still feel pretty heavy-handed, too. It stars Paul Bettany because the title character, Sophia Lillis as his niece Beth, and Peter Macdissi as his long-time boyfriend Wally. “He understood how early trauma in life can affect somebody.”. Oh, absolutely! And the content, of course—from drug use and alcohol abuse to suicide and sexual content and 20 or so f-words—obviously pushes well into R-rated territory as well. BRIAN VINER: Uncle Frank could be the love-child of a William Faulkner novel and a Tennessee Williams play, were it not for an ever-so-faint resemblance to The Dukes Of Hazzard. Bettany plays the role of Frank, the titular 'Uncle Frank' whose life journey the movie documents. The tart-tongued, Appalachian Sofia Petrillo lookalike played by Glenn Close in “ Hillbilly Elegy ” is succeeded by the Mamaw of “Uncle Frank.” Here, she’s played by Character Actor Margo Martindale, who has one moment of truth in this tired, trope-filled feature. Still, his casting is likely to be scrutinized given that the actor, who is married to “A Beautiful Mind” star Jennifer Connelly, isn’t gay himself. “Uncle Frank” will debut on Amazon Prime Nov. 25. In the first, Frank (Paul Bettany), a celebrated literature professor at New York University, crumples before the tombstone of a long-lost loved one. Powered by JustWatch It’s Mammaw season at the movies. Soon after arriving, she discovers her uncle is gay and lives with longtime partner Wally. Uncle Frank is about a teen named Beth (Sophia Lillis) who goes with her gay uncle (Paul Bettany) on a road trip from New York to his homophobic family in … “When my father came out, nobody was that surprised, and actually, it was a relief to everybody. In an interview with The BINGE Guide, Paul Bettany, who plays Frank an alcoholic gay professor, spoke about the personal nature of the story. Like Ball, Bettany had a familial connection to the “Uncle Frank” narrative. “My father was a gay man who came out to me when he was 63, then when his partner died when he was in his early 80s, he went back in the closet because he was a Catholic and thought it was a mortal sin.”, Bettany, who played the Vision in Marvel’s Avenger films, went on to say, “I was scared about going there, but then Alan told me the story of his coming out to his mother, which didn’t go anywhere near as well as Frank coming out to his mother, so it turned out we were both involved in a project where we wanted to put things right.”, Talking about the themes of prejudice, acceptance and redemption explored in the film Bettany said, “I wanted to imagine what things could have been like for my father if he had just got right with himself and accepted himself and his sexuality, which very sadly brought my father a lot of shame. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. Uncle Frank, streaming Wednesday, November 25 on Amazon Prime Video check out the trailer below. Listen to trailer music, OST, original score, and the full list of popular songs in the film. “I wanted to make a movie that was a gay love story with a middle-aged couple where nobody had to die,” Ball said. Uncle Frank (2020) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. DNA was launched in Australia in 2000 and is available worldwide in Print (in newsagents and bookstores throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK and Europe) and Digital (through DNAstore, Pocketmags, iTunes, Amazon Kindle, Windows and Google Play). 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Did you have an Uncle Frank or someone like him in your life? In the film Uncle Frank by writer and director Alan Ball (American Beauty), a closeted gay man goes on a road trip from Manhattan to his home town in South Carolina with his niece and boyfriend.. https://hollywoodlife.com/2020/12/02/sophia-lillis-interview-uncle-frank-movie In ‘Uncle Frank,’ Paul Bettany Embarks On Road Trip Through 1970s Gay Life. Though Ball views the push to cast LGBTQ actors in queer roles as valid, he said he couldn’t imagine anyone except Bettany playing Frank. Uncle Frank Soundtrack Music - Complete Song List | Tunefind “Uncle Frank” had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was aiming for a theatrical release before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. That’s always of interest to me.”. In the film Uncle Frank by writer and director Alan Ball (American Beauty), a closeted gay man goes on a road trip from Manhattan to his home town in South Carolina with his niece and boyfriend. I don’t see a lot of stories about people overcoming trauma. Written and directed by Ball, “Uncle Frank” follows Beth Bledsoe (played by Sophia Lillis), a young woman eager to escape small-town South Carolina in the early 1970s. And I think the whole family had much more trouble with him when he went back into the closet than we ever did with him coming out,” he explains. “So, for Paul, it was also a chance to do a ‘what if’ story about his own father,” Ball added. What might their story have been?”, To modern audiences, Bettany is best known as a Marvel Cinematic Universe stalwart, thanks to performances in “Iron Man” and “The Avengers,” as well as their subsequent followups. But it wasn't an uncle; it was my older sister Laura. See exclusive photos and pictures of Sam Shepard from their movies, tv shows, red carpet events and more at TVGuide.com Sam Lloyd full list of movies and tv shows in theaters, in production and upcoming films. During the interview Bettany reflected on his childhood and going to school in the suburbs. Frank Sinatra was many things: A crooner who could make bobby-soxers faint, an Academy Award-winning actor, the elder statesman of the Rat Pack. See full bio » More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro We and our partners use cookies on this site to improve our service, perform analytics, personalize advertising, measure advertising performance, and remember website preferences. Thirteen years after writing and directing his first feature Towelhead, Alan Ball is back with the deeply affecting new film Uncle Frank.. Ball is best known for penning the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1999 American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (among many other accolades).). She finds a kindred spirit in her uncle Frank (Paul Bettany), a New York University professor whose thoughtful demeanor and smart fashion sense set him apart from the rest of the Bledsoe clan, including his macho father (Stephen Root). He had a 20-year relationship with another man, and when that man died, he went back into the closet. So I was very bullied because of it, which was very confusing for me. But it was his work in 2018’s “Journey’s End,” in which he portrayed a World War I soldier awaiting a deadly offensive, that convinced Ball the actor was a good fit for “Uncle Frank.”. There are two movies at war with each other inside Uncle Frank. “You should do what you think is right for you. DNA is Australia's best-selling magazine for gay men. Uncle Frank, a film about a closeted gay man who comes out to his family is the latest of a string of films featuring an LGBTIQA character. Uncle Frank lives a double life and keeps his sexuality hidden from his family, a theme which Bettany knows all too well. Sam often mentions members of her family, usually in a negative or insulting way. What if that were true? But when Franks father suddenly dies, the trio road trip home to South Carolina for the funeral and the gay man must confront his past. When Beth arrives in New York to attend college, she learns that Frank is gay and in a committed relationship with Wally (Peter Macdissi, who is Ball’s real-life partner), a Saudi Arabian expat. Paul Bettany enjoyed going back to the "golden era" of cinema in 'Uncle Frank'. “Also, Paul’s father was gay. “It’s not just about coming out, it’s about confronting the past. Stephen starred opposite of Nicole Kidman in the Roger Ailes, Fox News sexual harassment scandal, Bombshell (2019). James Franklin Baskett (February 16, 1904 – July 9, 1948) was an American actor who portrayed Uncle Remus, singing the song " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah " in the 1946 Disney feature film Song of the South. Uncle Frank, a film about a closeted gay man who comes out to his family is the latest of a string of films featuring an LGBTIQA character.. Like Ball, Bettany had a familial connection to the “Uncle Frank” narrative. Every month, you'll find great feature stories, celebrity profiles, pop culture reviews and sensational photography of some of the world's sexiest male models in our fashion stories. “She said, ‘I blame your father because I think he was that way, too,’” Ball told HuffPost in an interview. Most of them are in jail or on parole, while others carry on some of her bad traits. “I’ll never know if that’s true [because] my dad had already died at that point. When thinking about Wisconsin, famous actors aren't the first thing that comes to mind. Home » Entertainment » In ‘Uncle Frank,’ Paul Bettany Embarks On Road Trip Through 1970s Gay Life. Yet, there are quite a few celebrated actors and actresses who come from the dairy state. Alan Ball won an Oscar for his original screenplay of “American Beauty” and has established himself as a prestige television visionary with “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood.” His new Amazon Prime film, however, affords him an opportunity his earlier work did not: the chance to revisit ― and subsequently reimagine ― his own family history. “I love the message that he gives her,” Lillis said. I had a very different experience than most teenage boys growing up,” Bettany said. Teenager Beth leaves her rural Southern hometown for New York City where her uncle Frank, played by Bettany, teaches. Frank’s advice to be who she wants to be, rather than follow her family’s expectations, guides Beth into adulthood. Written and directed by Ball, “Uncle Frank” follows Beth Bledsoe (played by Sophia Lillis), a young woman eager to escape small-town South Carolina in the early 1970s. It stars Paul Bettany as the title character, Sophia Lillis as his niece Beth, and Peter Macdissi as his long-time boyfriend Wally. An unexpected tragedy, however, soon prompts Frank and Beth to return to their hometown. But the next day, we were driving around and passed this lake, and my mom said, ‘That’s where Sam Lassiter drowned.’ And I said, ‘Who is Sam Lassiter?’ And she said, ’He was a real, real, real good friend of your daddy.”, At that point, Ball recalled, “I had this sort of ‘what if’ moment. Uncle Frank is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Alan Ball.The film stars Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis.Set in the 1970s, Uncle Frank is a road movie about a gay man who confronts his past. Stephen recently starred in Amazon's drama Uncle Frank (2020) and plays a role in the Michael Morris feature directorial debut To Leslie (2020). So for me it was a very cathartic experience to imagine a different outcome.”. The movie, which also stars Judy Greer and Margo Martindale, debuted to mostly positive reviews, with Bettany’s performance cited as a career best. People find out you have a very different lifestyle with very different family friends from the family friends that they might have. “Growing up, I literally didn’t understand homophobia until I went to school in the suburbs, where I felt very alienated. Uncle Frank is about a … Uncle Frank begins in 1969 when Frank speaks with a 14-year-old Beth. American Beauty writer Alan Ball tells a coming-of-age story in Uncle Frank, about a teenage girl who learns a secret about her relative. Written and directed by Ball, “Uncle Frank” follows Beth Bledsoe (played by Sophia Lillis), a young woman eager to escape small-town South Carolina in the early 1970s. It was released on November 25, 2020, by Amazon Studios When asked about playing gay as a straight man, Bettany said he raised his concern with Alan but ultimately decided to accept the role based on his father’s experience. ‘Mapplethorpe, The Director’s Cut’ Will Reveal More About The Gay Photographer’s Life, Kayden Gray Tackles HIV Stigma In Audacious New Film, Love Or Hate Him, Real Sick Bitch Of Melbourne Is Back With ‘2 Milli On My Moot’. The touching and tender Uncle Frank is easily the most personal work of the 63-year-old’s career. Once there, he’s forced to drop the longstanding facade among loved ones and confront emotions he’d suppressed for decades. “His character [in ‘Journey’s End’] was imbued with such dignity, decency and compassion, and I knew I wanted those qualities for Frank,” Ball said. The 49-year-old actor stars in Alan Ball's road movie as the titular Frank Bledsoe and revealed that he loved replicating the style of screen icons such as Robert Redford in the 1970s set flick. Her grandfather, Frank’s father Daddy Mac (Stephen […] “Uncle Frank” Director Alan Ball on Trauma-Bonding With Paul Bettany The emotional, humor-tinged family drama is a deeply personal "what if" … The actor is best known for his recent roles as JARVIS and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films 'Iron Man', 'Iron Man 2', 'The Avengers', 'Iron Man 3', 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'Avengers: Infinity War'. “When I read the script I was going to turn it down on the grounds that it felt very personal to me,” Bettany tells The BINGE Guide. In interviews, the actor has cited his father’s late-life decision to live openly as a gay man, only to renounce his sexuality before his death, as an inspiration for his performance. Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany), the title character, takes a genuine interest in his niece Beth (Sophia Lillis) and encourages her to explore the world beyond her small South Carolina town. Michael Perez is an actor, known for Uncle Frank (2020), Insatiable (2018) and Halt and Catch Fire (2014).