Bitter-Sweet Film Reflecting on the Dividing-Line Between Madness and Sanity

Rating: 8/10 (5 September 2014)

The plot of FRANK is straightforward - young dude Jon (Domnhall Gleeson) becomes involved with a band headed by Frank (Michael Fassbender). After some considerable time spent in a lonely house in Ireland putting together an album, the band are invited to the United States to perform. Jon assumes an important role in trying to bring the band to a wider public, but finds that his efforts are in vain.
What makes FRANK such an intriguing film is the way director Lenny Abrahamson handles his material. Throughout the action Jon tweets his responses to the band, as well as giving YouTube links, both of which appear regularly on screen; this form of public communication complements his regular voice-overs. It seems on the surface that he is simply narrating a story; but the use of tweets and links indicates his desire for the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame. Jon is the kind of person who welcomes the fact that a video he posts online of the band's performances attracts half a million hits; it indicates some kind of 'success'.
However the band have other reasons for wanting to perform. Frank (Michael Fassbender), who spends most of the movie wearing a gigantic false head, is treated as a quasi-messiah by his fellow band- members, who take notice of his every word. He is quite clearly a very creative person, with a unique line in lyrics, but we are never quite sure what to make of him. The false head not only conceals his face, but his character as well. All we know is that Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has a particular attraction to him, which goes beyond conventional expectations of 'love' and 'relationships.'
Matters come to a head at a gig in Austin, Texas, when Jon discovers to his cost that all his best-laid plans for the band's success come to naught. Frank disappears; and Jon spends much time and energy trying to find him. Although the two of them meet up at the end, the outcome is not quite what Jon expects.
Like Frank, fellow-band member Don (Scoot McNairy) also seems to behave in an irrational (some might say mad) manner; but director Abrahamson makes no judgment on him. Rather he invites us to contemplate on precisely how we can separate 'madness' from 'sanity'. Although Jon appears 'sane' can we therefore judge his behavior to be superior to that of the 'mad' Don or Frank? If the band are happy doing what they are doing, what right has anyone to try to alter their lifestyle? Abrahamson provides no concrete answer to this question.
Although the film's subject-matter is basically serious, there are some fine comic moments, especially in the sequences taking place in the lonely Irish house where the band spend several months trying to put the album together. Jon tries his best to integrate into their way of life, but remains a perpetual outsider. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially from Fassbender and Gyllenhaal as the odd couple. FRANK is quite simply a revelatory movie.