Briefly: men bad, men responsible for woman's flaws, period blood, lesbians, strong independent woman, contrived plot point, more period blood, MORE PERIOD BLOOD, women yelling at each other, women crying, women best friends, inappropriate adult child relationship, MORE PERIOD BLOOD, now we're laughing about period blood, did I mention men are responsible for women's flaws?

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.

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

Amazing movie. Loved It!

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.

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.

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.

Refreshingly honest, humoristic and most unapologetic, this woman empowering comedy is all about declining obligatory feministic heroism to apprise taboo modern woman challenges in the likes of pro-choice decisions, lesbian parenting and postpartum depression.

A little too slow, but overall ok+. A woman has an abortion then becomes a nanny to a lesbian couple. Soon she becomes as close to them as family. Several 'KARENS' are in the movie.

More a post-modern woke check list rather than a fully developed film (this coming from someone who considers themselves to be a little closer to woke on the spectrum, I just don't think this can replace proper story telling). Even as a squishy melodrama soap it fails. Or as an exercise in boundary pushing, bodily function positivity. Or as a realist exploration of individuals and relationships in mundane moments of stress and crisis. However, it's main failing is it's profound emptiness and lack of likeable characters (except for Frances who is delightful despite being mistreated by all of the other characters). In the more tender scenes that have the potential for a bit of substance and heart, it descends into a series of toilet jokes which (if being generous) have a normalising function at first but end up becoming the main crux of almost every scene. Exhausting.

Although it could be described as a coming of age story, Saint Frances does an incredible job of tackling very heavy subject matter head on with humour. Although I rarely laughed, that's certainly not a bad thing; it hit me in a different way to many others. I found the approach to the material shocking, in the best possible way because it made the film so effective, appealing to someone who would find it amusing, and also someone like me who was shocked, but greatly admired the film makers handing. After an abortion, thirty four year old Bridget struggles with the aftermath, and what she wants from life in general (that bit i can relate to). She takes a post as a nanny and slowly forms a bond with the six year old she is caring for. Kelly O'Sullivan writes, and is terrific in the lead role, taking you through all the emotions, even if your emotions are at odds with her own, that's what makes this work.

This is absolute tedium. It is a love me because I force you. 1/10

I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It was really excellent. Really frank and raw depiction of emotions and womanhood, being simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. It's really a shame this has been so underseen.

When making a film with a taut dramatic premise, the picture requires an equally taut treatment to be effective. Unfortunately, writer-director Joe Penna's space-based, molasses-paced morality play is a tirelessly tedious slog padded with lots of filler and more than a few incredibly dull sequences. The chief culprit here is the script, which is rife with easily spotted plot holes and whose very title doesn't even accurately reflect the story's central scenario. The result is indeed unfortunate in light of the fine ensemble cast and the picture's stellar visual effects, attributes that are sorely undermined by the shortcomings surrounding them. Don't waste your time with this one.

Promising newcomer Kelly O'Sullivan is the screenwriter and star of Saint Frances, one of the most thoughtful and empathic indies of the past years. The film follows Bridget, a woman in her thirties with no direction in life, finding solace and understanding in the unlikeliest of people after an abortion that she's trying really hard to diminish and deny: she becomes good friends with the titular Frances, the six-year-old she's babysitting, daughter of two strong women, as different from each other as they are from Bridget herself. Director Alex Thompson deftly avoid over-dramatizing anything in Bridget's life. Instead, he lets her come every single realization that she's supposed to. This is certainly the least walked path in stories about growing up and finding yourself, and it's the best choice here. While a more voice-over pestered, dramatic, on the nose direction makes such a story seem filled with artificial preaching, Thompson's choice to let the camera merely observe the humanity in the character unfold makes for a mostly authentic experience: it allows us to choose to empathize with them rather than "force the empathy on us". I'm saying "them" because all characters are genuine and complex. Every single one of them goes through a believable arc, from the well-meaning, slightly naive father of the aborted child to Frances' stern, no nonsense working mother to the other mother, the one that's actually forced to raise Frances and her new-born child, finding herself more and more estranged from her family. The dynamics created between each female character in the film are fascinating, feeding from layers and layers of internal and external conflict. Saint Frances is a textbook small scope, personal drama, no unnecessary pretension or inflated sense of self. I wish more indies would take this path.

This is an utterly astounding movie that brings the best and the worst out in all of the characters. With its mature themes and it's hilarious and righteous characters, 'Saint Frances' will be a film you won't want to miss.

Really nice story with a portrayal of the current societal challenges for women and couples alike. Totally recommend it.

The scenes with Maya and Frances were lovely...Maya was an awesome nanny and Frances was cool. But the film and characters moved from dealing with female body issues in a matter of fact and hence normalising way, such as the scene near the beginning normalising period blood in sex, to wallowing in them. The result was hence a portrayal of the women in the film, and hence women in general, as victims.

Boring movie for feminists.

I loved this movie so much. Super sweet, maybe a touch sappy, but also modern, sophisticated, real. Really heart centered movie featuring strong female characters, dealing with real female issues. Just full of goodness. Loved it.