Let Me Be Frank – One for the Dreamers
Director: Ryan Silva
Writer: Ryan Silva (Screenplay)
Starring: Ryan Silva, Lore Lee, Cedrick Terrell, Lara Ingraham, Fredy Andreiuci, Jared Scott
Plot: A young rapper moves to Los Angeles in search of stardom and instead finds an unlikely friend in his dispirited apartment manager whose dreams led him to the same city twenty years prior.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Let Me Be Frank starts when aspiring rapper Reggie (Silva) and his aspiring actress girlfriend Maya (Lee) move from Texas to LA. The couple find a studio apartment with New Yorker apartment manager Frank (Andreiuci) who doesn’t give off the best first impression.
As the couple look to make something happen in the city of dreams, Reggie starts to build a friendship with Frank, who has seen the dreamers come through the city for years, including himself, as the pair of dreamers from different worlds look to support themselves through the troubles of chasing dreams.
Thoughts on Let Me Be Frank
Characters & Performances – Reggie is the aspiring rapper from Texas, he hopes that moving to LA could help him make an impact in the industry. He is dealing with the everyday positives and negatives of being a starving artist. After finding himself spending a weekend alone, he starts to learn more from the apartment manager who has been through his own journey of trying to make a name for himself in LA, giving Reggie a chance to learn about what it takes to survive in the city of dreams. Ryan Silva takes this leading role, bringing a mature character to life, one that understands the world is changing at slower pace than many people would like, while bringing his writing and directing skill to the film. Frank is the building manager in the apartment where Reggie and Maya, he doesn’t start off the best foot, but as he tries to prepare the couple for chasing their dreams, knowing how difficult it can be, as his own dreams didn’t come true from moving to LA. He ends up becoming friends with Reggie, showing how he has always been trying to improve himself from his own negative upbringing. Freddy Andreiuci is great in this film too, with him and Ryan needing to look like unlikely friends, and the performances show this. Maya is the girlfriend of Reggie’s she is chasing her dream to become an actress, with her latest offer being the one that pushes them apart. Lora Lee does a great job in the supporting role, where she will get the important scenes, but isn’t around as much as needed for bigger story going on.
Story – The story follows two aspiring artists that move to LA in hopes of following their dreams, only to learn the importance of being in a city like this, friendship, support and having people around you that can see the best in what you can bring to the industry. This is a story that will put that focus on an unlikely friendship between generations and backgrounds front and centre, showing that people will want to chase similar dreams, that might not always be completely the same, but wanting to make an impact will be the desired result. This story is more about the conversation between the two find themselves going through, showing the different view points and how people from different backgrounds can discuss how they see them, rather than just argue about things.
Themes – Let Me Be Frank is set in LA which is always going to be the perfect location for the chasing of dreams in the entertainment industry. The film with have moments of comedy, which isn’t thrown on too heavy, working when needed to lighten up the drama of everyday life.
Final Thoughts – Let Me Be Frank is a wonderful drama that will show the importance of chasing dreams and who to surround yourself with.