Don’t forget you can listen to our exclusive interview with Frank’s director, Lenny Abrahamson by clicking here
When last we saw director Lenny Abrahamson, he brought us the powerful and harrowing What Richard Did. For his latest film, he has taken a much different tack, delivering the wonderfully offbeat and whimsical Frank. Partly inspired by comedian Chris Sievey's creation, Frank Sidebottom (co-written by Jon Ronson, former member of Sievey's band), the movie takes us into the strange world of Frank (Michael Fassbender), an eccentric musical genius, clad in giant paper mache head he refuses to take off. Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), an unhappy office drone with a strong interest in music, is our guide through this world, having been invited to play keyboard for Frank's band, 'Soronprfbs', after witnessing the former keyboard player attempt to drown himself. What follows is a beautifully weird, sometimes dark, and always absorbing tale as ambition clashes with creativity.
Frank is the type of movie that grabs you from the opening frame, with the tone evident from the first scene of a frustrated Jon trying to compose songs inspired by things that pass him in the street. The humour is very close to the surface, coming thick and fast, but it is tinged with darkness, as it delves into the numerous mental problems, not just Frank's, that plague the band. It never gets heavy handed, treating the subject matter with the respect it deserves, and in doing so, helps you identify and invest in these characters easily. This is also down to the cast, delivering pitch perfect performance, most of all Fassbender, bringing a lot of personality and emotion to a giant expressionless head. Relying on his voice and body language to do most of the work, he imbues Frank with an instant likability and infectious enthusiasm, one that makes you feel for this faceless mad man the most of all. He's also got quite a set of pipes on him, and the last song that closes out the movie will be stuck in your head for quite a while. Domhnall Gleeson contributes the ever present narration, presented as updates to his various social media pages, and his devotion to the band makes him extremely likable and relatable, even as you get the feeling there is something more selfish beneath his commitment to the band. He has great antagonistic relationship with Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), whose suffocating hold on Frank is a lot more than it first appears. Gyllenhaal is fantastic in full on antagonistic mode, adding a degree of spikiness to proceedings. Rounding out the main cast, Scoot McNairy puts in a heart breaking performance as the band's manager, making quite an impact with his limited screen time.
Abrahamson brings the smart and inspired script from Ronson and Peter Straughan to life beautifully. Complementing the movies tone and subject matter, the movie is shot throughout with a dream like quality, and the entire story moves forward with a deliberate pace. As the plot progresses, layer upon layer is added to the story, making for a much deeper story than you first suspected. With the third act in sight, the drama comes to the fore, never feeling out of place, and rounding out the story in an extremely satisfactory way.
It is safe to say, you won't see anything like Frank too often, and it can definitely be put in the 'not for everyone' pile. But if you can get passed all that, you are rewarded with a sublimely surreal and fantastically realised experience, bolstered by fully committed performances form all its cast members. A must watch!!
