Saint Frances

Released Feb 28, 2020

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

List

99%

103 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

After an abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds friendship with the 6-year-old she's hired to watch.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Joe Clay

Times (UK)

Funny, light and perforated with wicked one-liners, it takes the initial premise from Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up and drives it into entirely different and eminently more satisfying territory.

Aug 18, 2022

Full Review

Will Gompertz

BBC.com

Saint Frances is smart and original and anti-sensationalist. It is also a very good film, which speaks to you but never shouts.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 5, 2021

Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

I do wish "Saint Frances" indulged in or two fewer getting-to-know-you montages. But I say that about most every movie that comes along, even the good ones.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 5, 2021

Full Review

Amber Wilkinson

Radio Times

O'Sullivan's script has an emotional honesty and lightness of touch that allows no room for cynicism, and she navigates themes such as "geriatric" pregnancy and postnatal depression with an impressive generosity to her characters.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 4, 2022

Full Review

Ayeen Forootan

In Review Online

Thompson's filmmaking sticks to the safe and familiar territory of a lo-fi indie, never pushing its aesthetic to places that might challenge the viewer like its subject matter does.

Jun 5, 2021

Full Review

Olly Richards

NME (New Musical Express)

2020's best coming of age drama.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 29, 2021

Full Review

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Leonard N

The average rating on this is far higher than the film merits. It is fairly entertaining, but too self-conscious and self-congratulatory to have any genuine weight. It contains the contemporary, woke worldview of a teenager brought up on social media. The male characters are appallingly simplistic and one dimensional in that same way feminist film critics complained about (either utterly supportive and devoid of any character beyond being easy-going and supportive, or egotistical children). Not so much a film in its own right as a "correction". It's like an "everybody's a victim except heterosexual men" piece , written by a bitter women's studies graduate. Abortion? That's absolutely fine, more of a lifestyle choice than the killing of a developing baby, and only bad people disagree. Simplistic left wing tract. Watch Francess Ha, or 20th Century Women. Far, far superior.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

Full Review

Brad M

Far from what i expected for a comedy/drama. Far from expectations after seing it ranking no1 in rotten.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/23

Full Review

Angelia C

Amazing movie. Loved It!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/23

Full Review

isla s

I enjoyed this film in terms of seeing how Bridget interacted and befriended the young Frances. It's fair to say both people learn something and there are some genuinely amusing moments - it is categorised as a comedy film, though I wouldn't by any means say its constantly laugh out loud funny, it has some nice moments, some moments that made me smirk or smile, sure...its quite a nice film with some good themes and the like, though not a typical slapstick comedy type film. There are some genuinely poignant moments present, I felt. I liked the tone the film ends on and what it represents, in a way. It's a somewhat insightful and I'd say its got an uplifting element to it, yes, so yeah, its a good film I'd say. Not earth-shattering or anything but certainly not a bad film, its a good watch and a film I'd recommend, yes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I loved the way Saint Frances handles itself. It's confident, tender hearted, and graceful. It sends a lot of thematic messaging to its story without feeling trite or heavy handed - the "lessons" it teaches deserve to be there and aren't forced. I particularly loved the married couple Bridget nannies for as their post-birth relationship felt so real. The story is so honest in showing how dishonest the characters can be - and when it all comes spilling out the happy/sad release is incredibly gratifying. It's just a really well done movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

aaron p

Interesting and Relevant but Can't be Saved in the End I decided to watch the movie based on great critics reviews and ratings, which were so high we might expect the film to gain instant access into the criterion collection. The themes of the movie have great potential, tackling uncomfortable and difficult topics from a woman's point of view that haven't been seen before. While initially, those unique themes provide viewers with tangible material that might move us to shock, embarrassment, and outrage, by the end of the film I felt tricked. The themes that originally make the film a unique opportunity to tackle new ground become so layered and strategically placed, that by the end of the film we sense that we have been setup to swallow almost 2 hours of continuous woman's issues and cultural taboos - our gag reflexes become engaged. Undeveloped characters and unresolved concerns are too much for one (short) movie to take on while keeping the story telling natural and the audience believing and empathetic to the issues the characters experience. In then end, the story of a woman (Bridget) who unexpectedly finds new life perspectives from the influence of a little girl (Frances) still touches us and permeates through the pretentiousness. Although this element of the film might have been it's saving grace, it isn't strong enough for me to redeem Saint Frances.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Alex Thompson

Director

Kelly O'Sullivan

Maya

William Drain

Librarian

Laura T. Fisher

Donna

Mary Beth Fisher

Carol

Meighan Gerachis

Nurse tech

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Synopsis

After an abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds friendship with the 6-year-old she's hired to watch.

Director: Alex Thompson
Producer: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Raphael Nash, Kelly O'Sullivan, Eric Ashworth, Diane Beckway, Greg Beckway
Screenwriter: Kelly O'Sullivan
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Runaway Train, Metropolitan Entertainment
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 28, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 3, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.1K
Runtime: 1h 46m

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