What goes on inside the head, inside the head?

Rating: Null/10 (18 February 2015)

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, "Frank" stars Michael Fassbender as Frank, a mysterious musician who always wears a papier-mache mask. In need of a keyboardist, Frank hires Jon (Domhnall Gleeson). The duo isolate themselves for several months, determined to put together an experimental album.
Interesting, creepy and a little bit sad, "Frank" sketches a broad portrait of today's music scene. This is a world in which gimmicks attract listeners, in which anything marginally odd is deemed revolutionary, in which bands remain unnoticed unless they pander to mainstream trends, in which talentless leeches saddle up to gravy trains, in which even the humblest men harbour dreams of celebrity, in which mental illness is misidentified as genius, in which physical and psychological disorders hinder artists as much as help them, and in which social media alters how music is consumed and promoted.
Though populated by fine actors (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scoot McNairy in particular), it is Michael Fassbender who steals the show. Though we rarely see his face, Fassbender imbues his character with a range of emotions, Frank oscillating from godlike superhuman to insecure man-child. In Frank's mask, Jon sees what he wants to see: a legend, a God, a pathway to celebrity. The truth, though, turns out to be far more disturbing.
7.9/10 – To see this material done slightly better, see: "Ghost World", "Art School Confidential", "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", "Bound for Glory", "Mister Lonely" and "Exit Through the Gift Shop".