Frank

So here's a new film which is very much worth seeing for many reasons, it's an odd mish-mash but it provides some food for thought and thoroughly entertaining. For one it uses the influence of Frank Sidebottom, a character of popularity during the 80s, my knowledge of him is brief but it was essentially a mancunian man with a plastic head who played keyboard terribly and sang awkwardly and became a cult figure. This film may be called Frank and it may have his recognisable guise as the central figure but this is not a film about Frank Sidebottom, it's a film about a different Frank, a different time and a different person under the plastic head (spoiler, it's Michael Fassbender.) This is important to note going into the film, it may seem like a fun film, with a weird chap making weird music with his buds and acting crazy, it might sound like a comedy but it's not as simple as that, it's more. It's a meditation on talent, media, mental illness, it's derives some humour from that but it's film with an extremely sad and melancholy core. I loved this film.

Some parts, if I were being picky were a bit irksome, it's hard to paint a picture of mental health very delicately on film, but broad strokes are difficult to define such complex issues so the film gives us outlines of these people and their issues but does not strain itself trying to fill in all the minor details. I understand this is a difficult thing to achieve in a film of such a short running time and there is much more going on, the action of the film. A meditation on mental health is not something that would slot neatly into any film, it's there for humour and pathos and drives the film but it all just feels superficial but I won't complain too much. The film is good on so many other levels.

I can't believe I've gotten so far without mentioning the best part of the film, the thing that holds everything together. Domhnall Gleeson, the shining beacon which made About Time not only watchable but on occasion downright delightful, sure he has the beautiful Rachel McAdams standing next to him but it was his film and he was brilliant. He also had a couple of other parts such as Levin (the best character obv) in Joe Wright's Anna Karenina and a bit part in the last Harry Potter Film (which I didn't bother seeing...) but most importantly he piqued my interest starring opposite Hayley Atwell in a heart breaking Black Mirror episode (Be Right Back) and absolutely nailed it. Therefore he has my utmost regard and interest - him along with Dane DeHaan are my ones to watch if anyone gives a shit, obviously I will follow Fassbender to the ends of the earth... He is essentially fronting this film, it's more his film than anyone else's and sure being the straight guy, eyes of the audience, main character, is a tough role to play because to cap it off, not going to lie, the guy is a total dick, but Gleeson has a charm about him that kind of makes his wet blanket loser relate-able. Ok, perhaps I'm being harsh on the guy, to be honest, he's just a normal idiot with no discernible talents but a desire to more than he is. It's a tough one.

Lots of people just coast through life without actually knowing or fulfilling their potential, sure we could all say we want to be famous and recognised and admired for our passions but life never usually works out that way. What the crazy people in this film seem to grasp is that life isn't about the fame and admiration, it's about doing what you love and doing it how you want to do it without pandering to anyone else. It's a human anathema that we wish to be liked, I don't give a shit if you disagree with me, it's the truth, everyone deep down wants to be loved, or liked, that's why we have family, friends, and in this day and age, Facebook, come on, even the word 'like' has become synonymous with some kind of achievement, because being liked is more important than ever in this day and age, not only is it built into our subconscious, now it's built into our society. Frank the film is essentially pointing at media of the modern age and music and talent and smushing them together to make some kind of statement, it's a sad one.

What I've learnt from this film is, talent is something you just have, if you don't have it, you either have to work really hard or you try something else, everything else, until you find something you can do and that you're good at and that makes you happy. And hey if you're not talented but something makes you happy, you just keep plugging away at it - just don't expect any awards. It's a fine line. Being good at something and enjoying something don't have to necessarily be the same thing. If you're bad at something (say for instance, critiquing films on a blog) but you enjoy doing it, just keep doing it, and don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks.

Then there's the media thing which basically, this film just makes out to be generally a bit of a hollow lie for the most part but also has it's uses, which is kind of true. Views on a youtube page don't equate to much, followers on your twitter feed don't mean shit, life is happening around you and it's much more fun than quantifying your popularity on social media! (I say this because if it's not obvious, I have no real presence on social media...) It has it's uses and it comes in handy in the latter half of the film but for the most part, as with everything, take in moderation kids!

As always I've dove straight into the boring stuff, you want to know if the film is actually any good; it is, I loved it. The humour is straight up black served in a line of shots, it can get deliriously awkward but it works for the tone of the film which is about damaged people through the perspective of something who is so straight up normal and boring the clash continues to pay dividends (stocks and shares speak, oh yeah!)

I could go on for ages about this film, I won't bore you though. I loved it and I didn't even mention how Michael Fassbender is essentially a walking Adonis even with a fibre glass head. Also boy can he sing... Maybe I was enticed too much by the film but I thought his music was fucking great, I would listen to that album! Fassbender has the ability to look like a world of sorrow is crushing him, he can pull that face off like no one's business, he can just look like sorrow personified and it's amazing, I almost feel like applauding and yell ACTING (in appreciation not mockery) whenever he does (he deserves all the awards.) But this might be one of my favourite roles of his predominantly because he is actually amazingly good at acting with a big round head on top of his head. I will stop now though. This film is great. Go see it. Now.