Frank

(49th KVIFF) Michael, Maggie, Domhnall, I love you all. (08.07.2014)

I would like to dedicate this review to Nonet, to the group Cry of shits and to their only concert. At last I realized that it’s not so much about music, but the creative process. Experiencing something, discovering something new. Thanks for that unique (probably unrepeatable) experience. Frank’s Soronprfbs are absorbed in creation, perfection and the endeavor to create that amorphous “something different" sucks the viewer in and the eccentric front-man played by Michael Fassbender balances somewhere between genius and mentally sick thinking. The main, socially networked storyline symbolized by the tweets of the main destroyer, Domhnall Gleeson, meanwhile manages to reflect the miserable state of today’s cultural understanding. The middle part of the movie is important, but the action suffers awfully = it’s just not so enjoyable. The ending jumps head first into depressing psychological drama, where Fassbender puts on an incredible performance, unique in his career so far. The transformation from extravert to introvert is gloomy even if the ending is fairly optimistic with a message saying that all this makes sense. Abrahamson managed to make a great, slightly unbalanced para-documentary in a style peculiar just to him. Almost compulsory for Full Moon magazine readers. Pure creativity. (07.11.2014)

Excellent example of Michael Fassbender's acting mastery, who is willing to wear a mask so that his face is not visible for most of the film. Why shouldn't he take such a challenge? I find it appealing, which is also connected to the fact that this biographical film is excellently absurd, almost profoundly depressing. Brilliant performances. (10.09.2014)

A film that started promisingly only to end in awkwardness. No, I don't regret the time I spent with Frank and his gang, it's occasionally really funny, playful, and features interesting actors. The sight of Maggie Gyllenhaal enveloped in tobacco smoke is priceless, and innocent cuckoo Domhnall Gleeson can really surprise, as it turns out he has some major ambitions hidden behind him. However, promising moments are followed by weaker passages, and above all - the whole film is permeated by an attempt at some deeper message, some significant revelation about alternative music, which ultimately doesn't happen. The ambitions are obviously greater than the result. Not least because the story of an alternative band that refuses to "give in" to the audience for fear of dilution and selling out is ultimately supposed to serve as a commercial product itself. Also, because the band members' attitudes seem more like the result of a collection of mental disorders rather than a conscious act derived from a strong value system. Any true creation should have the ambition to find and engage its audience, and performing at a concert is certainly not an act of prostitution to the entertainment industry. It is worth reminding that at least music production has already lost concepts like mainstream, independent music, and artistic experiment in connection with the fall of music labels and new ways of distributing music. The last thing I would criticize Frank for is that the film about a music group serves me only a bunch of strange guys, but practically no musical experience. When I think of, for example, the Swedish Sound of Noise, that was a different story. Overall impression: 55%. (14.09.2017)

At first glance, the movie poster makes the movie look more silly than serious. But the truth is that Frank is a decent story of a fearful boy who is a genius artist at heart. This boy’s name is Frank and he’s portrayed by probably the best actor of the present day – Michael Fassbender; not only can he act in such a way that he almost tears his sexual soul apart, he’s also quite a decent singer. At times, some of the singsongs’ lyrics remind me of a tripping Jim Morrison. Frank wasn’t really tripping himself, despite the fact that he’s wearing that giant fake head. (16.07.2015)