Dear Frankie

Plot synopsis:
Lizzie Morrison (Emily Mortimer) and nine-year-old deaf son Frankie (Jack McElhone) frequently relocate to keep one step ahead of her abusive ex-husband and his family. They are accompanied by her opinionated, chain-smoking mother Nell. Newly relocated in the Scottish town of Greenock, Lizzie accepts a job at the local fish and chips shop owned by a friendly woman named Marie, and enrolls Frankie in school.
Through a Glasgow post office box, Frankie maintains a regular correspondence with someone he believes to be his father, Davey, who allegedly is a merchant seaman working on the HMS Accra. In reality, the letters he receives are written by his mother, who prefers maintaining this charade instead of telling the boy the reason she fled her marriage.
When she learns that the Accra will soon be arriving at the docks at Greenock, Lizzie in a panic concocts a scheme to hire a man to impersonate Davey. When her effort to find someone at the local pub fails, she enlists Marie's assistance. Marie arranges for her to meet an acquaintance who coincidentally is passing through town at the same time the Accra will be in port. When Lizzie and the stranger (Gerard Butler) meet, he doesn't tell her his name. Lizzie explains the situation and gives him the letters to provide some background. He agrees to spend a day with Frankie in exchange for the meager payment Lizzie can offer him.
When the stranger arrives at their home to pick up the boy, he brings with him a book about marine life (to Lizzie's surprise), one of Frankie's passions, and a bond is forged immediately. The two spend a day together (with Lizzie secretly following them), collecting on Frankie's bet at a soccer match from a school mate, ordering chips, and later in the evening setting up another half day visit.
The second day is magical, ending with a nice evening at a dance, as Frankie wins another bet by getting Lizzie and the stranger to dance together. Afterwards, they walk together to get around the "discuss no past" ground rules, and Lizzie tells the stranger about Frankie's deafness—a "present from his daddy"—and her reason for leaving her husband. She explains that the letters from Frankie are so important to her because this is how she "hears" her son. The stranger tells her she is a great mother for protecting Frankie. Returning home, Frankie gives the stranger a hand-carved wooden seahorse as a parting gift. At the door, after a long pause together, Lizzie and the stranger kiss each other goodbye. After he leaves, Lizzie discovers he has returned her payment to him, stuffed into her coat pocket.
Sometime later, Lizzie learns that her husband is terminally ill, and reluctantly visits the hospital without Frankie. She experiences her husband's angry fury again, when he demands to see Frankie. Later when she tells Frankie that his dad is really sick, he writes him a note and draws him a picture. On a second visit, Lizzie delivers them to her husband, along with a snapshot of Frankie. Davey's death brings peace to them all.
Lizzie asks Marie about the stranger and she learns he is Marie's brother. Frankie's last letter shows that he has known the truth for a while—that the stranger was not his real dad. He knows too that Lizzie is sad, but she has him for support. The letter also indicates that Frankie intends to carry on with his life, telling about his real dad passing, his friends and their gold stars in school, and getting onto the reserve football team. He closes the letter by saying he hopes the stranger will visit again.
Lizzie finds Frankie sitting at end of a pier, and they enjoy a quiet moment together, looking out to sea.

Tags: romantic

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