Frank

You can tell that film makers are running out of ideas. Just look what is coming out next year...

Beverly Hills Cop 4

Taken 3

Fast And The Furious 7

And the list goes on. My point is that original films are not seen by a wider audience, since these box office releases get more attention. For example, how many of you saw Safety Not Guaranteed in a cinema ? A film that should have been a bigger hit, if the audience knew what the film was about. So i try and look outside the biggest box office releaes sometimes, and watch smaller films also. A film that recently was released on dvd and blu ray in Sweden, called Nebraska, is a very good choice. I actually saw it in the cinema, but we were only 7 people there. Such a shame not more people don´t sponsor these smaller films by buying a ticket, they need to be made. So my advice, go rent Nebraska, or even buy it, Bruce Dern is absolutely brilliant as the old senile man. About 5 months ago, while looking around at the new films coming out from film festivals, one title got on my mind straight away. A film simply called Frank. This is a fictional story inspired by the character Frank Sidebottom, and the comic persona of Chris Sievey. The image of a man wearing a huge mask head, that looks very odd, made me curious what this could be. Especially when i found out Michael Fassbender was the lead role as Frank, since his really good performance in Shame showed what a talented actor he is. With a praised director, and a great lead actor, is Frank a film that gives a lot of joy, or is this a film that have been praised too much, for no reason at all ?

Jon ( Domhnall Gleeson ) is a young musician, who hope to write songs that will hopefully be discovered. One day, while walking close to a beach, he sees a man trying to drown himself. This man is a keyboard player in the band Soronprfbs. Since the keyboard player is in no shape to play more music, Jon is invited to play in the band. Jon meets Frank ( Michael Fassbender ), the lead singer with an enormous head. Frank never remove his head, he eat thanks to liquid food, that he sucks from straws. Frank´s partner Clara ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) does not like Jon, and hope he will not stay. The band travel to the countryside to begin recording their new album. After much work, and frustrating problems, the album is finished. But suddenly Jon find band member Don ( Scoot McNairy ) dead, hanged himself in a tree. The band members and Frank are depressed over this tragic event, but decide to go on tour in America, since they have been invited to play in South West, Texas. Frank is unstable, and Clara think she knows what Frank need, and what the band needs to succeed. Jon is still sure his ideas could be what they need to succeed in America.

I feel so much joy right now after watching Frank. There are not many times you get a feelgood comedy drama that deliver so much at the same time. Michael Fassbender as Frank is absolutely splendid, and really strange, and i love it. If he does not get an award for his performance in any of the film awards coming next year, i will personally beat the jury with a microphone stand. To act this good behind a big head mask is not an easy task. But Fassbender finds his own way to show us how much a body can say, without ordinary face expressions. But there are many more great actors in the cast who do their characters really well. Domhnall Gleeson as the keyboard player Jon is really good, and let´s not forget Maggie Gyllenhaal as the psycho bitch Clara, this could be her best performance in years. Director Lenny Abrahamson is a very respected film maker from Ireland, who have made 3 irish films in the past, who all have been praised for being very emotional. I have not seen any of his earlier work, but after watching Frank i feel bad for not seeing anything he did in the past. Frank is such a great motion picture, you wonder if anything will be better than this during this autumn. The songs are sometimes odd, but beautiful and make the film feel more alive. Once they band start the recording of their album, you can tell they are trying to make the songs feel alive, and honest. Almost like there are influences by The Doors, and Frank can be seen as a new odd version of Jim Morrison. Director Lenny Abrahamson have made a film that will be loved by many people, who love intelligent films. Frank is a mix of everything, a bizarre story on life, where you never know what is going to happen. I have a feeling that Frank might be one of the best films this year, but until i have seen Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal, i can´t say i know the answer yet. But you have to see Frank, this is such a good film that i can watch it over and over again. That does not happen often.

Rating: DDDD