Frank [Review]

Frank is a U.K. Irish comedy / drama film about an odd band trying to become a known voice in the music world. Although it has a very simple title, the name describes a character that is quite complex. The film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival of 2014, at the event the audience members were given their own Frank masks. Warning, this review has some spoilers.

At first, the film follows Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) as he attempts to become a musician as he continues about his daily life. Being in the right place at the right time, Jon is introduced to a band that needs a new keyboard member, which happens to be the instrument he plays. The band agrees to take him in and the crew heads into solitude to create and record their album. Before he realizes it, Jon is roped into much more than he bargained for.

The biggest draw in is Frank, an individual that wears a large mask and is the leader singer of the band; The Soronprfbs. The idea is inspired by Frank Sidebottom, an English comedian/ musician created and played by Chris Sievey. The only main connection between the two are the similar masks and their desire for creative fantasy.

Michael Fassbender was intrigued by the role of Frank and being able to wear a mask. The freedom the mask gave Fassbender was where his inspiration came from. He does an extraordinary job of creating an intriguing and complex character. Some of his best moments are when he simply talks, Franks opinions are what makes this character so interesting.

All of the music in the movie is played live, the actors are playing the actual instruments. While the movie does not spend enough time with actual music (once their album is finished the viewer gets to hear almost none of it). In the last moments of the film the majority of the band (except for Jon) come together in a seemingly natural creation of a the song “I Love All of You.” The music really is exceptional, the film is rather ambitious, but could have used more focus on full songs instead of snippets.

The story begins with Jon but is most interesting when Frank is given screentime. In the end, Jon is more of a vessel for the common viewer to observe Frank and other characters such as Clara and Don. Although he begins as the protagonist, Jon ultimately becomes the villain and eventually does not even perform in the song that unites the band again.

As a whole, Frank is an enjoyable experience, one that shows how brutally different artistic minds and common minds can interact in the real world. The idea was almost too ambitious, one leap in the story excludes the viewer for 11 consecutive months of the characters lives. The plot points that carry the story often changed more than expected, this works to emphasis the emptiness felt when Frank disappears after Jon goes “full villian.” Even though the actual music is quite good, it is hard to argue giving more time to tracks as the movie was already more than an hour and a half and still needing more time.

Opinion By Garrett Jutte
Sources
New Yorker
Metacritic
IMDB