Bizarrely entertaining and subtly moving.

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2014)

'FRANK': Four Stars (Out of Five)
Indie comedy-drama flick about a small-time alternative pop/rock band that builds a small fan base, due to their new keyboardist's Twitter and YouTube postings (of the band). The leader of the music group is the quirky titular character Frank; who constantly wears a papier-mâché head and never reveals his face. He's based on the late comic Chris Sievey's popular character Frank Sidebottom. The film stars Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy and Michael Fassbender (in the title role). It was directed by Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson and written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan. It's a really weird movie but it's also bizarrely entertaining and subtly moving (at times) as well.
Gleeson plays Jon; a keyboardist who desperately wants to write songs, and be a rock star, but can't find the right motivation to do so. McNairy plays Don; the manager of a quirky unknown pop band called 'Soronprfbs'. When the keyboardist for Soronprfbs (Shane O'Brien) has a mental breakdown, and tries to drown himself, Don asks Jon to fill in for him at a concert (that night). Jon then travels to Ireland, with the band, to record an album with them. The group is filled with multiple eccentric characters; like Clara (Gyllenhaal), who seems to hate Jon, and their mentally ill lead singer Frank (Fassbender). Frank hides his true identity behind a papier-mâché head, which he never removes. Jon posts videos of the band practicing, and Twitter updates of their album's progress, which makes them a mild internet sensation and lands them their first major gig. The newfound popularity threatens to tear them apart though.
The film is really dark and weird; almost to an unlikeable extent. If you can sit through the whole thing though it does finally payoff. The characters are all strangely relatable (and likable) and the movie does have a positive message about doing music just for the love of music, and not seeking out too much success or fame. The performances are all more than decent and Abrahamson seems like he was the right director to bring this bizarre story to life. If you don't mind movies that are really strange, and hard to comprehend, this film might be the right one for you.
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