Blessed art thou, O Lord, that I was not born a woman. Being a woman can be so complicated. But if you do have to be a woman, the best age to be is six years old. And another suggestion: it would help if you could be as cute as Shirley Temple. This being the twenty-first century, you don't have to be as pale or as blond as Shirley Temple. But as for cuteness... blessed are the cute, for they shall inherit the earth. The rest of us will have to go to college. And if we drop out of college without a diploma, we'll be picking and packing for an online retailer until we reach 65, in a futile attempt to pay off our student loans. Introducing Ramona Edith Williams, aka Frances at age six. Wow.
There are also some adults in this movie. Bridget (Kelly O'Sullivan) aspired to be a writer. At age 34 still aspiring? But one thing we never see her do: writing. So here's the word. Writers write. You think someone said one day: "I might try being a writer... The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." Nope, you only get to squeeze out a sentence like that after you've hammered away on your Corona portable for hundreds of hours. And after you've thrown several early drafts into the bin. Movies featuring would-be authors who wait at tables and can't get started on that novel/play/poetry - enough already. And you won't become a writer if you spend your days agonising over how woke you are.
Grown-up girls meet grown-up boys. That does not need to be magic. Plain old textbook biology can do the heavy lifting. But a household where two lesbian women are bringing up their children - that will need to be held together with love, a cobweb made of strong silk. Little Frances will be smarter than the average kid, because she has grown up in a home where no-one has to strive to be "normal" ie conventional. So there it is. The movie dashes about, frantically ticking off the issues. Breast-feeding in a public park, shocking! But when the script allows the actors an opportunity to get on with being human, "Saint Frances" can be rather lovely. And by the way, when you get to seven, you gotta start keeping your room tidy. Magic doesn't last forever.
There are also some adults in this movie. Bridget (Kelly O'Sullivan) aspired to be a writer. At age 34 still aspiring? But one thing we never see her do: writing. So here's the word. Writers write. You think someone said one day: "I might try being a writer... The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." Nope, you only get to squeeze out a sentence like that after you've hammered away on your Corona portable for hundreds of hours. And after you've thrown several early drafts into the bin. Movies featuring would-be authors who wait at tables and can't get started on that novel/play/poetry - enough already. And you won't become a writer if you spend your days agonising over how woke you are.
Grown-up girls meet grown-up boys. That does not need to be magic. Plain old textbook biology can do the heavy lifting. But a household where two lesbian women are bringing up their children - that will need to be held together with love, a cobweb made of strong silk. Little Frances will be smarter than the average kid, because she has grown up in a home where no-one has to strive to be "normal" ie conventional. So there it is. The movie dashes about, frantically ticking off the issues. Breast-feeding in a public park, shocking! But when the script allows the actors an opportunity to get on with being human, "Saint Frances" can be rather lovely. And by the way, when you get to seven, you gotta start keeping your room tidy. Magic doesn't last forever.