Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 18, 2020

Alex Thompson's Saint Frances is written by and stars Kelly O'Sullivan, and it's her movie from start to finish; after all, you don't write a script and take the lead role if you don't have something to say. O'Sullivan plays Bridget, a 34-year-old stuck in a dead-end job. After hitting it off with beta male Jace (Max Lipchitz), an unplanned pregnancy leads to a trip to the abortion clinic. Although Bridget clearly does not want her own child right now, she pursues a nanny job advertised by lesbian couple Maya (Charin Alvarez) and Annie (Lily Mojekwu). Their daughter is six-year-old Frances (Ramona Edith Williams), who needs cared for while exasperated Maya looks after their newborn.

Unabashedly feminist, pro-choice, and agnostic -- which I'm guessing applies to the writer/star as well -- Saint Frances draws more than a few hard lines in the sand during its heavy 106-minute running time. It's refreshingly honest and occasionally moving, yet extremely hard to warm up to if you don't subscribe to all of its strong viewpoints. (I got two out of three, but won't get more specific than that.) Almost all of its characters start out in a very self-absorbed place but, thankfully enough, manage to grow up a little and this makes for a sweet and effective third act that's much more palatable than what comes before. Unfortunately, this might be "too little too late" for sensitive viewers, and I wouldn't blame them for giving up before the credits roll. Normally I could chalk this up to its bristly exterior and hot-button topics -- some of which are so heavy-handed that they read more like product placement -- yet a few fundamental mistakes work against the film as well. None are more off-putting than its unfair treatment of more conservative characters, which are as underwritten and caricatured as their opposites in a Kirk Cameron film.

It may not be "the next indie sensation", but Saint Frances still has a few things going for it and, if I'm being entirely honest, does more right than wrong. The acting is fairly impressive across the board, its summery soundtrack features a few memorable tunes, and Alex Thompson's steady direction keeps things moving at a good clip. Oscilloscope's Blu-ray will delight fans with its strong A/V presentation and a few thoughtful bonus features to boot.

Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Saint Frances is a fine-looking film that features good use of color and lots of natural light to create a very realistic atmosphere. This digitally-shot production makes a seamless transition to Blu-ray thanks to Oscilloscope's solid 1080p transfer: there very no obvious signs of noise reduction, compression artifacts, edge enhancement, heavy banding, or other eyesores, and the film runs at a reasonably high bit rate from start to finish. Image detail and textures are rarely striking but clearly apparent in close-ups and wide shots alike, while depth of field works nicely with many compositions to achieve terrific use of space. Still, the film clearly aims for an ordinary slice-of-life vibe so, unless you're looking for visual highlights, you'll simply be pleased with how natural Saint Frances looks on Blu-ray.

Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although the Blu-ray defaults to a perfectly fine DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, most viewers will want to choose the separate 5.1 mix -- it offers better use of ambient background effects and music cues to fill the sound stage at a few key moments during the film. In both cases, dialogue is well-balanced and cleanly recorded with no obvious defects, drop-outs, or sync issues, sitting mostly in the front three channels with few exceptions. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film; they're formatted nicely and fit well within the 1.85:1 frame.

Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Although a limited edition Digipak is available from Oscilloscope's official site, the standard version comes in a clear keepcase with attractive cover art and, a lovely inner print, and a handful of extras that fans should enjoy.

• Audio Commentary - A laid-back but very talkative track featuring director Alex Thompson, screenwriter / actress Kelly O'Sullivan, and cinematographer Nate Hurtsellers. As expected from the lineup, it serves up a pretty decent balance of technical insight, behind-the- scenes info, and personal stories.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes - 11 total, 1-2 minutes each.

• Blooper Reel (1:51)

• Trailer (2:23) - Watch it here.

Saint Frances Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Alex Thompson's Saint Frances is certainly not a film for all tastes. It's capable of delivering very effective moments of personal drama, but this is clearly a soapbox film for writer/star Kelly O'Sullivan and, if you don't agree with all of her viewpoints, you're in for a pretty rough ride. Nonetheless, there's more right than wrong here and, at the very least, it has the good sense to leave its characters in a better place than where they started. Oscilloscope's Blu-ray will please fans with a solid A/V presentation and a few decent extras, but newcomers should proceed with caution.