Frank (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 95 minutes
Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy, Michael Fassbender, Carla Azar, François Civil
KRS Releasing Ltd

Michael Fassbender is one of the greatest actors of recent years. He has already delivered show-stopping performances such as a hunger-strike protester in Hunger (2008), a sex addict in Shame (2011), Magneto in two brilliant X-Men movies (2011 and 2014) and a slave owner in 12 Years a Slave (2013), among other memorable performances.

Frank is a really original film. It has all the quirkiness to make it stand out; yet, taken as a whole, it goes beyond being just a collection of oddities. This is more of a tribute to genius and the way people react in the presence of a genius.

The film is also a tribute to Frank Sidebottom, the English pop musician who along with his band The Freshies, had taken the British alternative scene by storm when he used to take to the stage wearing a globe with eyes.

Domnhall Gleeson is Jon Burroughs, who works in an office, is very shy, is too self-aware, has red hair and is too young for his own good even though he believes he is old enough. He is not a genius; in fact, his songwriting is awful. That is when he meets others he can relate to, who form part of a band that plays art rock and travel in a van. They are led by none other than Frank (Michael Fassbender), a man who is always wearing a mask and is a veritable genius.

The band called Soronprfbs play gigs and concerts that do not pay much but they are continuously on the road. When the band members seal themselves in a cabin in order to write their first album, the consequences are very unusual to say the least. This is not about making the greatest album on earth but rather about reaching an awareness level that is beyond the musical. This is followed by a trip across the Atlantic which further accentuates the band’s identity.

Frank takes Jon under his wing as they tour from one unusual destination to another and the film becomes more than just a film about a shy guy. It becomes a musical odyssey, an ode to the way music was made, to band dynamics and human relationships and expression, and to a way of life that today is slowly becoming more and more extinct in this homogenised world.

This is about music that is artistic, miles away from pop

The script is co-written by British journalist Jon Ronson who had played keyboards with The Freshies. Here he delivers the right pathos to his characters.

Gleeson is likeable in his role while Gyllenhaal as Frank’s sidekick is impeccable, domineering and seemingly always angry. At the centre of everything is Fassbender whose posture and vibes are captivating.

The result is a movie that musicians will lap up, especially if they have at one point spent some time in a band that wasn’t any good but felt they were reaching musical heights.

This is about music that is artistic, miles away from pop and that delineates itself by having only a limited audience.

Frank is a rock star who is an outsider, a sort of Jim Morrison when in his poetic moods kick in and the perfect star for such a bohemian lifestyle.

The genius of this film is that it has no frills at all, making it very hard not to like this film or not to remember it.

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