Frank (2014)

Creating music in Frank (2014)

‘Frank’ is the rather jolly new film from Lenny Ambrahamson, a name that will escape many but shouldn’t. Ambrahamson is the director of ‘Garage’ (2007), a largely forgotten about film, which to me, cemented itself as something altogether new: dark but warm, sweet but bitter, a film shot and acted with a naturalism that has rarely been replicated so effectively (the only other film that comes to mind recently is Clio Bernard’s ‘The Selfish Giant’ (2013), a ken Loach influenced story of two working class boys and their mission to earn some money from working in the scrap yard).

Frank marks an unexpected shift in genre for the director-his last film ‘What Richard Did’ (2012) couldn’t be more different-but the tone throughout his films remains remarkably contingent; there’s often a playfulness, charm and warmth he lends to his characters that is balanced alongside some of his films more troubling elements (in Garage the main character Josie (Patt Short) rather disturbingly insist on watching a porno with his underage co-worker). What remains constant in his films is the titular character is or becomes an outcast. In Frank, the difference here is that the film doesn’t want to focus on a character in an every day situation (a student, drug addicts or a lonely garage attendant) but instead one of an optimistic dreamer.

Frank is based in spirit on the life of Frank Sidebottom, a fictional character created by Chris Sievy, an inspiring (and inspired?) signer/songwriter who came to fame after the creation of his papier-mâché alter ego. Based on an article written by John Ronson about the myth of Sidebottom, who also co-wrote the script with his ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ scribe Peter Straughan, Frank is a rags to rags story that, as the director stated in a recent interview at the SXSW film festival, recalls the “maverick genius” of the Frank sidebottom character, as recalled by Ronson’s time as the keyboard player of Franks ‘Oh Blimey Big Band’ in the 1980’s.

John (Domhnall Glesson) can’t seem to find his own voice, struggling to string together anything even remotely close to an original song (at the start we see John on the beach watching life pass by as he try’s to find an influence in the most mundane aspects of everyday life; seeing whether it really is that easy to unlock your creative side). Literally by chance John is introduced Franks band and inadvertently finds himself a reluctant member, replacing the keyboard player due to a botched (and melodramatic) suicide attempt. As the film weaves between the droll and the tender, it becomes apparent that there is an audience for Frank and his band of musical misfits, traveling to SXSW to step into the limelight and show the world what Frank is really all about.

The film, to some, has been hard for people to grapple with; similarly teetering on the edge of obscurity as Ken Russell’s ‘Tommy’ (1975) but also as whole-heartedly optimistic and lovely as last years unfairly forgotten ‘Good Vibrations’ (2013), along with a uncomfortable dose of the music of David Lynch. On top of it all there’s Frank, a strange creation mystifying and intriguing audiences and the band members alike. As it is well known now, underneath Frank is Michael Fassbender, exemplifying charismatically the inner qualities of Frank. How do you create a fully three-dimensional character when we can hardly ever see his face? It’s a question that both the director and star surely asked themselves; how do you convey warmth or humor without the use of facial expressions?

 

The tone must surely help. It’s rather bright and has a ‘live life to the full’ philosophy that exemplifies the life of many a young musician. Oddly this tone originally felt jarring and out of place; as if the pleasant and care-free form of the film was actively making it a lesser achievement, making it seem all together slighter than some may have come to expect. I still have a feeling that the film may only become a talking point for novelties sake at first, drifting into obscurity in the same way Frank’s band was hastily rushed off the stage at their first major gig. However, the tone seems fitting if only because of what Frank and John are: loveable outsiders with dreams as big as Franks rather over sized head. On a lesser note, the supporting characters are, almost unavoidably, less interesting.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Clara, a sarcastic and cynical member of the band, comes across as partially one-note because she only shows that side of herself; a down trotting group member who’s soul focus is admiring and encouraging Frank. Any revelation that may arise from the side characters seems predictable and out of sync with the films odd tone and charm. What the side characters do bring though is warmth to the adventure, as if, even though it is John and Franks journey, there is a sense of belonging that they each bring- it makes the closing final minutes all the more honest and the reunion all the more sweet; like watching the Adam’s family getting reunited.

The talking point really is Fassbender in the end. Taking the actor but hiding him under that fiberglass head looks to be distracting-is it really Fassbender under there you may ask? -  but on reflection Fassbender, despite the extra weight and pre-tense, exhibits Frank as a layered and three Dimensional character, movingly harboring a long suffering mental illness that hasn’t defined his creativity but actively hindered it. If we look at Fassbender throughout the film, the strength to his performance lies in how he exhibits the other elements of his body to convey his emotions-how do you show happiness without a welcoming smile or sadness and disorientation with a face that never changes?

Frank perhaps misses the target in reaching the everlasting cult status it hopes for-after all what sets this apart from the ever-increasing stories about the outsider and their journey to the height of their career? Lenny Ambrahamson’s film is about the outsider but it’s also about the curse and pleasure of being seen as that unique and alternative wonder kid, what so few modern films here think can go hand in hand.