'Frank' Review

Title: Frank

MPAA Rating: RDirector: Lenny AbrahamsonStarring: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie GyllenhaalRuntime: 1 hr 35 mins

Jon (Gleeson) is a young “songwriter” and piano/keyboardist struggling to make legitimate music. He stumbles across the band Soronprfbs, who needs a keyboardist, as theirs has recently gone off the deep end. The band, which consists of a drummer that rarely speaks named Nana, a Frenchman on guitar who doesn’t speak English, and Clara the theremin player who may just be a sociopath. Tying this eclectic group together is the leader, their enigmatic singer, Frank. Now a part of this band with a name no one really knows how to pronounce he’s swept off into a forest recording studio in an attempt to cut a record for seemingly no one since they don’t really have a following. That is until Jon starts recording the events going on in the forest.

What We Think

Not only is this one of the best films of the year, it’s by far the quirkiest. It has a killer cast that features the three names above and Scoot McNairy being his normal awesome self. The writing is also top notch; what jokes there are hit and they made me laugh hysterically. It’s a strange brew this one, from Domhnall Gleeson’s understated and confused (rightfully so) performance to Gyllenhaal being straight frightening. It's the writing which is a character all its own coupled by Abrahamson's slight hand in the chair. This one is not to be missed whether it’s for the incredible music, interesting plot, or fantastic performances this is one that’s sure to leave you both happy you went to it, but sad you don’t get to hang out with this motley crew anymore.

Our Grade: A+

This is one of my favorite small films of the year. As a former musician, I not only relate to Jon in his attempts to create but also with the perspective it takes in response to the troubles of life and how they relate to the creation process. To see what I mean by that, you're just going to have to watch the darn thing yourself! Which you should totally do, in fact also go see Abrahamson’s previous film What Richard Did which is not only completely different but continues to show just how good this guy really is. And I think the last note to leave you on is that Michael Fassbender is such a good actor he even kills it with a giant fake head atop his own. Like seriously, he’s freaking great! Love that guy, looking forward to his next move which looks like it might be Shakespeare!