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Frank (2014)
Dir. Lenny Abrahamson
Minor spoilers below.
It's too often that low budget indies share the same core DNA. Long, hypnotizing shots. Kind of a semblance of a plot but not a fully fleshed out story. Sad existentialism. Non-endings. Blech. So, it's exciting when something so fresh and original comes around.
Frank is good. Really good. The film tells the story of a young, passionate keyboard player named Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) who wants nothing else but to play music despite being a tad mediocre and knowing it. After finding an ad in the paper looking for someone that plays the keys, Jon heads to this rehearsal of sorts to try out for the band.
There he meets a set of strange folk who don't even acknowledge his arrival and instead launch into some jam that sounds like a weird modern blend of Franz Ferdinand, Pink Floyd and Screamin' Jay Hawkins that fits so well and sounds so good that we can relate to the smile that washes over Jon's face as he realizes what he's gotten himself into. Even if the lead singer of the band, Frank (Michael Fassbender), wears a giant paper-mache head reminiscent of a character out of Morel Orel and never shows his real face to anyone.
A true character driven story pushed forward with fantastic performances by Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender and Scoot McNairy, this is an extremely intriguing, ultra original piece of work that outshines its low-budget contemporaries a hundred times over. Exploring serious thought-provoking themes in endearing ways and ending on a higher note than I thought was possible, I can't recommend Frank enough. It's on Netflix Instant. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
FINAL VERDICT: One of the most original films I've seen in quite some time. You'd be doing yourself an injustice by not checking this out. A contained, oddly beautiful little movie.
Dir. Lenny Abrahamson
Minor spoilers below.
It's too often that low budget indies share the same core DNA. Long, hypnotizing shots. Kind of a semblance of a plot but not a fully fleshed out story. Sad existentialism. Non-endings. Blech. So, it's exciting when something so fresh and original comes around.
Frank is good. Really good. The film tells the story of a young, passionate keyboard player named Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) who wants nothing else but to play music despite being a tad mediocre and knowing it. After finding an ad in the paper looking for someone that plays the keys, Jon heads to this rehearsal of sorts to try out for the band.
There he meets a set of strange folk who don't even acknowledge his arrival and instead launch into some jam that sounds like a weird modern blend of Franz Ferdinand, Pink Floyd and Screamin' Jay Hawkins that fits so well and sounds so good that we can relate to the smile that washes over Jon's face as he realizes what he's gotten himself into. Even if the lead singer of the band, Frank (Michael Fassbender), wears a giant paper-mache head reminiscent of a character out of Morel Orel and never shows his real face to anyone.
A true character driven story pushed forward with fantastic performances by Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender and Scoot McNairy, this is an extremely intriguing, ultra original piece of work that outshines its low-budget contemporaries a hundred times over. Exploring serious thought-provoking themes in endearing ways and ending on a higher note than I thought was possible, I can't recommend Frank enough. It's on Netflix Instant. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
FINAL VERDICT: One of the most original films I've seen in quite some time. You'd be doing yourself an injustice by not checking this out. A contained, oddly beautiful little movie.