Melissa Leo, who won an Oscar for a notably talkative turn in “The Fighter,” here plays an ex-convict who scarcely speaks at all. When Leo does say something, it’s often in a barely audible whisper. Her default expression is glum: She shuffles and her rare bits of enjoyment are expressed in grimaces.
Leo, as the title character, has been steamrolled by prison life, and now on the outside, she brings home a rapidly escalating number of pets. The animals and consequent filth eventually resemble an episode of “Hoarders.”
The movie is oddly constructed, a character study composed of often mystifying character developments, such as Francine’s out-of-the blue sexual encounter with a man she’s been serving cocktails. Directors Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky stick doggedly to a slice-of-life approach, while refusing to offer a lot of real-life information. The near-mute, freshly paroled heroine gets job after job. She lives in filth and can barely make eye contact, yet at least three different people make passes at her.
What with the unexciting hand-held camerawork, and the off-putting script and lead performance, “Francine” remains as frustrating as its inscrutable title character.