King Frankie - A Film by Dermot Malone

Event information

Starring Peter Coonan and Ballymena's own Claudia Beatty.

"King Frankie" Synopsis:

In Act I we are introduced to Frankie, the protagonist, as a humble taxi driver, who runs his own tiny taxi firm. We meet him as he goes about his daily routine, day break sea swims and dropping regular customers to their destinations. He has a plan to expand the business with a high-tech upgrade, but there is little emphasis on this plan, given the day that’s in it, the day of his fathers removal.

Act II flips back and forth between 2 time-frames – present-day and a fateful day in the protagonist’s life 10 years earlier. It begins when a troubled young man surprisingly shows up at Frankie’s place for the removal gathering, throwing Frankie 10 years back, to a time when Frankie was “King Frankie” - a slick, smiley, fast talking, amoral, greedy entrepreneur, who is very well-liked, even though he seems to owe money to everyone. King Frankie throws an expensive birthday party for his eight-year-old daughter, and we quickly get the notion that this is the day his life went south. Since we have already been introduced to taxi-driving defeated Frankie, the audience’s attention is not driven by suspense, but by concern.

The dramatic engine here is the question we are asking ourselves: what terrible thing happened that day, that transformed the protagonist and his life? In the modern timeline,

Frankie is kind, humble and quiet, living in the modest back room of his parents home, whereas “King Frankie” inhabits a life of luxury. At the end of the act, the dramatic question is answered: having learned that his business venture with Frankie is dead, Frankie’s best friend/business partner, Peter, shot himself in front of the birthday guests. The third act is launched when Frankie realizes he must save the troubled young man, Peter’s son, from a similar fate.

Act III is driven by a search for Cathal and Frankie’s commitment to saving him. This ultimately happens through a heart-to-heart conversation in which Frankie manages to lift up the young man’s spirits. After this conversation, en route to bring Cathal home, Frankie throws his investor presentation booklet to the dustbin, letting us know that he has truly been redeemed, and no longer seeks big financial success at all costs. Frankie has finally learned what is important.