Francine (2012)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 192

My Rating

Movie Info

Academy Award winner Melissa Leo gives a fierce and restrained performance as Francine, a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away others and instead seeks intimacy in the most unlikely of places. Gritty, elliptical, and voyeuristic, Francine is a portrait of a near-silent misfit and her fragile first steps in an unfamiliar world. -- (C) Official Site

Unrated, 1 hr. 14 min.

Drama

Directed By: Brian M. Cassidy , Melanie Shatzky

Written By: Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky

In Theaters: Sep 12, 2012 Limited

Washington Square Films - Official Site

Francine Trailer & Photos

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Cast

Melissa Leo
Francine
Keith Leonard
Ned
Victoria Charkut
Linda
Dave Clark
Pet Store Manager
Mike Halstead
Veterinarian
Marietta Hanley
Prison Guard
Brendan Burke
Prison Administrator
Robert J. Meredith
Cab Driver
Danica Brodehead
DMV Clerk
Colin Mulholland
Customer with Hamster
Snapring
Band
Angelo Decelie
Band
Shane Lake
Band
Kevin Rhoades
Band
Matthew Slater
Band
Eric Willows
Band
Karen Keefe
Customer with Bird
Joey Hoeber
Older Man
Barbara Forman
Pastor's Wife
Alder Lakish
Pastor
Brenda Roach
Nurse
Deborah Scott
Receptionist
Laurent Rejto

Critic Reviews for Francine

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All Critics (20) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (8)

While it's audacious on the part of the filmmakers (and of Leo) to keep Francine at arm's length from us, it makes the film a frustrating experience.

January 3, 2013 Full Review Source: Seattle Times

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

Top Critic

Francine portrays a woman on the socioeconomic margins and the sort of fiscal cliff that personalizes the phrase no politician can avoid these days.

November 14, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, documentary makers trying their hand at drama, inspire a certain voyeuristic fascination toward the character but rarely sympathy.

November 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Melissa Leo plays her without inflection, giving us no instructions about what our opinion should be. It is a brave performance, an act of empathy with a sad woman.

November 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

"Francine" is a small, detailed character study that never evolves into anything more.

October 24, 2012 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

What with the unexciting hand-held camerawork, and the off-putting script and lead performance, "Francine" remains as frustrating as its inscrutable title character.

September 14, 2012 Full Review Source: New York Post

Farran Smith Nehme

New York Post

Top Critic

Caught up in its own self-satisfied metaphor, its blank canvas and broadly sketched melancholic tones an empty vessel for those who would automatically turn the personal into the political.

October 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Shockya.com

Brent Simon

Shockya.com Source: Shockya.com

Petered out the perhaps promise of a psychological study or horror flick, halfway through 'Francine' nothing is left.

September 20, 2012 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Leo provides a seasoned, lived-in naturalism that is as rarely displayed on screen as it is potent.

September 14, 2012 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine

Will McCord

Paste Magazine

Numbing, uninvolving portrait of an ex-con as an animal-loving zombie.

September 14, 2012 Full Review Source: Film Journal International

David Noh

Film Journal International

Francine is so minimalist that it has to rely almost entirely on Leo for solidity, and it would be a far stronger film if it supported and framed her more effectively.

September 13, 2012 Full Review Source: AV Club

Tasha Robinson

AV Club

There are no concrete answers to be found at the end of this cryptic protagonist's journey, yet we can't help but follow every move she makes.

September 11, 2012 Full Review Source: Time Out New York

Keith Uhlich

Time Out New York

In a character study of an ex-con who gives her heart and mind to animals rather than people, Melissa Leo's risky performance is ultimately framed with a disappointing, distanced pity.

September 10, 2012 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

Bill Weber

Slant Magazine

Francine marks the start of a promising career for the filmmakers, more than anything else demonstrating their eye for small moments.

September 5, 2012 Full Review Source: indieWIRE

Eric Kohn

indieWIRE

As a 74-minute snapshot of an American at the low end of the struggling 99%, it speaks far more eloquently than poverty statistics.

September 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Screen International

David D'Arcy

Screen International

Audience Reviews for Francine

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A harsh look at the reality of an ex-convict, Francine (Melissa Leo), adjusting to life outside of prison in a small lakeside town. A rough watch, but a well told story nonetheless.
This is a strong character piece and may seem slow to most movie goers, but as heartbreaking as the film is, it delivers and leaves you somewhat beside yourself to think about your own choices.

March 19, 2012

Nick Radcliffe

Melissa Leo is always fabulous, but this movie didn't have enough to the story to really understand her character.

October 21, 2012

Barbara Henry

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