Magneto Makes Music

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2014)

I'm sure only a few of you will remember Frank Sidebottom from the 1970's but he was a man who went around and wore a huge paper mashie head, he had a TV Show and was from Manchester. Honestly, I have no idea how that all leads to the movie Frank which is about a man wearing a head and being in a band from America but still, here is it all the same. So I suppose the reel question is will this be A Rock For Ages? Or just some Blues, Brother? Frank is strange. There is just no getting around it, the whole film is a surreal journey into the mind of a total lunatic who's motives and reasoning only become clear at the end of the film, which personally I love. I think this is a bold movie. I defy anyone to find me another film like Frank in the last 10 years, because it is somehow totally relevant while being off it's crazy rocker too. They are two difficult hats to wear at the same time. One demands discipline and a reality to it and the other beckons you into a world of pure imagination where ANTHING is possible.
How this duality is maintained is that we are given a window into this world via Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), he is an average man. He is a bored human who is trying to write songs and ultimately find his voice with his chosen creative outlet, it's a place we have all been. This is the relatable part of the film, this man is us. However he is quickly drawn into a world of total chaos by Soronprfbs; an electric band which Jon stumbles upon and there bizarre front man Frank (Michael Fassbender).
In truth I am unconfident in calling Frank a comedy or any kind of genre at all really, it isn't laugh out loud funny, but at times it is pitch black in it's humour. Frank is truly a movie that defies definition, it's a film that shift and moves restless in its own skin and demanding you to consider it, and you do, because ultimately when it matters most Frank doesn't bottle out with the hard hitting stuff, Frank makes you confront your own darkest desires and they are wrong. The way this is revealed to us is nothing short of perfection.
Frank also has a very cunning use of social media, the film isn't just a crazy ride down a rabbit hole. No the movie also provides social commentary on how stardom is made in current society. Frank cuts through all the usual playfulness you find in a film and holds each of us accountable for what is happening to the characters.
Frank is masterfully played by Micheal Fassbender, but he is a man who is humble enough to know this isn't his show, it is Domhnall's and he is perfect for it, this is Dom's movie and everyone knows it.
Frank is a film that is one of those rare films that is so bold you truly don't know what to make of it, at times it is beautiful poetry and at others it strays into total madness. No matter what it is, it's powerful.