A shaken and disturbed man (Matthew McConnaughey) relays a
harrow tale to a fascinated FBI agent (Powers Boothe) of how, during his
childhood, his working class father (Bill Paxton) became possessed with
religious fervor and set off on a series of divinely inspired pick-axe executions,
including both him and his kid brother in the grisly affair. Frailty is bother well-crafted and
excellently acted by director Paxton, with an alternately harrowing and
ludicrous take on zealotry and mental illness that goes exactly where you
expect it to go before taking several wild and confusing turns. A tasteful
approach to the onscreen violence is appreciated.
** ½ out of ****
