Swiss filmmaker Pietra Volpe wouldn’t be the first choice to co-write and direct a drama about inmates, most of them Black, in a U.S. prison. Volpe follows up her acclaimed blood-pumping medical drama Late Shift with the somber stillness of Frank & Louis, which explores a rarely-discussed part of the inmate community. The film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as a longtime inmate who begins helping an aging lifer, played by Rob Morgan, who is suffering from dementia.
Ben-Adir plays Frank, who we are introduced to a largely-wordless stretch where he is booked into a new prison facility, his third transfer in a year. We see him go through the well-practiced motions of setting up his cell, neatly folding his stuff, unwrapping his collection of toy vehicles, and more. Still hanging over Frank’s head is a lengthy rap sheet, which includes a stint in solitary 17 years ago for assault. The weight, borne of years of confinement and the shame that it brings, is obvious in the heaviness of his shoulders, and the reserved, considered cadence of his speech.
Frank’s plan to increase his odds of parole is to join a program allowing younger inmates to become caregivers to older inmates suffering from dementia. Frank is paired up with Louis, played by Morgan, a former big shot with a violent past. But as he enters cognitive delcine, Louis is volatile and unpredictable. At times as timid as a kitten, flashes of his older self lead to explosive outbursts, with Frank a frequent target early on.
Co-written by Volpe and Esther Bernstorff, Frank & Louis explores the strange passage of time within prison walls. While the world continues to turn on the outside, prison inmates are forever looked at as the people they were when they went in. But, that’s just not possible. Prisoners are still people, and they will continue to evolve, some for good, others not so much. And in some cases, mental functions will erode until a person is no longer who they once were, and maybe can’t even remember the crime that led them there to begin with. If the purpose of prison is to teach them a lesson, what’s the point if they can’t recognize what they did?
Frank and Louis’ relationship evolves mostly as we would expect it to. The ice thaws between them as Louis’ mental state worsens, but there are moments when Frank reveals a shadier side to himself. An inmate, whose brother was left crippled by Louis back in the day, seeks vengeance, and Frank manipulates the situation to his benefit. It’s a snapshot of the person Frank is outside of these walls, and as we learn more about him and the things he’s done, our perception of him gets colored differently. Ben-Adir is afforded the meatier role by far. Frank is someone eager to show how rehabilitation has changed him, but years of hopelessness within the system have hardened him further.
On the other hand, the always-great Rob Morgan makes the most out of limited opportunities. Frankly, the Louis character is thinly written, with little about him revealed other than some family that want nothing to do with him. While Morgan’s expressive features make heartbreaking Louis’ deteriorating awareness and sudden vulnerability, theres disappointing lack of an interior life that Volpe allows us to witness.
Frank & Louis is bolstered by strong supporting performances, as well. Most notably is rapper Residente (great in 2024’s Sundance award winner In the Summers) as Julian, a Hispanic caretaker in the program paired up with a neo-Nazi. Julian, in prison for life with no chance of parole, sees this as karma, a belief he’s accepted to give his time on this Earth some meaning. Also good is Indira Varma as the head of the program, whose job appears to be managing expectations more than anything else. For most of these afflicted men, the outcome will be hospice care to live out their final days.
While clocking in at 94-minutes, the runtime feels longer as Volpe lingers to delay the inevitable, predictable conclusion. Still, this stirring drama about one man forgetting his past and another trying to atone for his, packs a powerful emotional punch and offers nobleness to people most have never thought about even once.
