[Yes, I would appear to be on a Michael Fassbender bender. No, I’m not ashamed of it].
Frank is a black comedy about an offbeat group of musicians lead by their eccentric front man, Frank, a guy who never takes off his large fake head. Domhnall Gleeson plays Jon Burroughs, an aspiring songwriter who gets a gig as the band’s keyboardist. The Soronprfbs (their name is deliberately unpronounceable) are the kind of band that mostly play for themselves and whose audiences are either bewildered by or indifferent to their performances. However, when Jon begins tweeting about the album they are making and uploading videos of their creative process, the band starts to gain a wider audience.
As a result of the publicity, the Soronprfbs are offered their first big gig–playing at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. But as the big day nears, the band begins to fall apart. Will their big gig make them or break them?
If you enjoy black comedies a la the Coen Brothers, you will enjoy Frank which has the same mix of odd people doing odd things which are regarded as completely normal. Although most of the publicity has focused on Michael Fassbender who plays Frank, I was really taken with Maggie Gyllenhaal as Clara, the ferocious den mother of the group. Most of the tension in the film comes from Jon and Clara butting heads over the direction the band should take. There’s a great scene when, food running low, Jon and Clara fight over the hot cocoa powder.
Ultimately, the movie asks who is really crazy: the Soronprfbs who take pleasure in making music just for the heck of it or Jon who is chasing a dream of mainstream commercial success?
Verdict: great little art house movie. Bring a hanky for Fassbender’s rendition of “I Love You All” at the end of the show. If you don’t weep, you you may have a false head instead of a real one.
If This Be Method ... 