Frank

A film that started promisingly only to end in awkwardness. No, I don't regret the time I spent with Frank and his gang, it's occasionally really funny, playful, and features interesting actors. The sight of Maggie Gyllenhaal enveloped in tobacco smoke is priceless, and innocent cuckoo Domhnall Gleeson can really surprise, as it turns out he has some major ambitions hidden behind him. However, promising moments are followed by weaker passages, and above all - the whole film is permeated by an attempt at some deeper message, some significant revelation about alternative music, which ultimately doesn't happen. The ambitions are obviously greater than the result. Not least because the story of an alternative band that refuses to "give in" to the audience for fear of dilution and selling out is ultimately supposed to serve as a commercial product itself. Also, because the band members' attitudes seem more like the result of a collection of mental disorders rather than a conscious act derived from a strong value system. Any true creation should have the ambition to find and engage its audience, and performing at a concert is certainly not an act of prostitution to the entertainment industry. It is worth reminding that at least music production has already lost concepts like mainstream, independent music, and artistic experiment in connection with the fall of music labels and new ways of distributing music. The last thing I would criticize Frank for is that the film about a music group serves me only a bunch of strange guys, but practically no musical experience. When I think of, for example, the Swedish Sound of Noise, that was a different story. Overall impression: 55%. (2017-09-14)

Frank is an incredibly enjoyable comedy-drama that manages to be both cheerful and moving at the same time. Abrahamson was able to create something so relaxing thanks to the quirky squad of well-chosen actors and his free thinking that I may not know a greater comfort. Domnhall Gleeson has been displaying talent in all directions lately, quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, including my favorite Michael Fassbender alias Frank, who could be considered the most controversial character in this film. Just the way the local group creates music here is a sign that this film is like something from a distant peaceful planet. Simply a great experience. I've already played the scene with Frank's the most likeable song ever about seven times. (2014-11-01)

I would like to dedicate this review to Nonet, to the group Cry of shits and to their only concert. At last I realized that it’s not so much about music, but the creative process. Experiencing something, discovering something new. Thanks for that unique (probably unrepeatable) experience. Frank’s Soronprfbs are absorbed in creation, perfection and the endeavor to create that amorphous “something different" sucks the viewer in and the eccentric front-man played by Michael Fassbender balances somewhere between genius and mentally sick thinking. The main, socially networked storyline symbolized by the tweets of the main destroyer, Domhnall Gleeson, meanwhile manages to reflect the miserable state of today’s cultural understanding. The middle part of the movie is important, but the action suffers awfully = it’s just not so enjoyable. The ending jumps head first into depressing psychological drama, where Fassbender puts on an incredible performance, unique in his career so far. The transformation from extravert to introvert is gloomy even if the ending is fairly optimistic with a message saying that all this makes sense. Abrahamson managed to make a great, slightly unbalanced para-documentary in a style peculiar just to him. Almost compulsory for Full Moon magazine readers. Pure creativity. (2014-11-07)

A superb showcase of Michael Fassbender's acting mastery, as he confidently takes on a role where his face is mostly hidden by a mask throughout most of the film. Why shouldn't he take on such a challenge? I find it appealing for that reason, especially since this biographical film is brilliantly absurd, almost to a depressingly strong degree. Great performances. (2014-09-10)

At first glance, the movie poster makes the movie look more silly than serious. But the truth is that Frank is a decent story of a fearful boy who is a genius artist at heart. This boy’s name is Frank and he’s portrayed by probably the best actor of the present day – Michael Fassbender; not only can he act in such a way that he almost tears his sexual soul apart, he’s also quite a decent singer. At times, some of the singsongs’ lyrics remind me of a tripping Jim Morrison. Frank wasn’t really tripping himself, despite the fact that he’s wearing that giant fake head. (2015-07-16)