FRANK is a Lot of Fun; Fassbender is Awesome!

Rating: 9/10 (1 August 2015)

When big budget mainstream movies wear me out, I turn to the film festivals to find a good character-driven, small-scale film to detox. In 2014, one movie that seemed to receive a lot of positive chatter was FRANK. I'd known very little about it but the image of the giant plaster head stuck with me and the buzz was enough to intrigue into a blind-buy when it finally arrived on store shelves. Man, I'm glad I did because I love this movie. It's a bizarre little character-driven tale of aspiring singer/songwriter Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) who, when we first meet him, trapped in a dead-end world of office work and a life in suburbia. A chance encounter leads him to a seemingly one-time gig with a small-time band called the Soronprfbs, headed by a mysterious figure that wears a giant plaster head and goes only by the name Frank. The gig is a disaster but the band still needs a new keyboardist (their last tried to drown himself in the ocean), and Frank saw something charming about Jon. Jon is invited to join Soronprfbs as they gather to cut their first album and it's not long before he realizes he's gone off the deep end. The other band members resent him from the start, particularly Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal. Clara is the band's Theremin player and the closest to Frank; she's short-tempered and violent, and Jon is immediately on her bad side. There are dueling ideologies as Jon is determined to find commercial success and the Soronprfbs just want to be themselves, and Frank is caught in the middle.
It would've been cool if the movie had made a point of keeping Frank's identity secret in the promotional materials and left it as a surprise for the movie's finale, but the posters and video cover art prominently advertise the fact that Frank is played by Michael Fassbender. This is, no doubt, my favorite Fassbender performance. Frank is an interesting individual. He wears the head 24/7; shower, sleep, mealsthe head is always on. Working behind the mask meant Fassbender had to give a broad physical performance as well to really bring Frank to life. And then there's the character behind the mask. Frank is unnaturally kind and he's got a talent for pulling music, however bizarre, out of the air. I thought he had a hint of Jim Morrison in his lyrics, with songs that sound as if they could've come from one of Morrison's poems (minus the extreme sexual themes). He's the one person in the band who seems genuinely thrilled to have Jon on board, and it drives Clara insane. Clara sees how Jon's presence is changing the course of the band and she doesn't like it. As the band struggles to put an album together in a remote Irish cabin, Jon is quietly recording video of the strange proceedings and posting them to YouTube to draw an audience and build a fan base. All Frank hears is that Jon has created a legion of fans for the band, but the rest of the crew can see Jon muscling into a place in the spotlight.
As fun as it is seeing Fassbender in action as his coolest character ever, the movie is more about that power struggle. Jon starts of innocent enough. He's just excited to finally have found a band. But he's the type who wants superstardom with legions of screaming fans, whereas the Soronprfbs just want people who dig their music. Or not. Honestly, the only one who seems to care whether people like their music is Frank. But even then, I think he just loves the idea that people "get" them. It all comes to a head in Austin, TX when Jon manages to score the band a position at SXSW based on their Internet popularity. It's a fun train wreck to witness as tensions hit their peak and Jon's dream falls apart. But, as interesting as the plight of Soronprfbs is, the best part of the film is the end where we learn who Frank truly is and Jon comes to terms with his own musical core. It's a great reveal and the film's best song closes out the movie. The first song from the band that we get to hear in full, "I Love You All" is weird and haunting and, as soon as I heard it, I couldn't get it out of my head. Needless to say, I downloaded it to my phone. I wouldn't be surprised if FRANK becomes a cult classic; Fassbender is a riot, the music gets into your head, and the, if you're like me, you'll want to watch it all again.