Frank

2014 · When you think you've gone far enough, go farther.

2.5 out of 5 reels

Reviewed by Bart Hartgring

The movie Frank is being marketed as a quirky comedy - but there isn't much to laugh at during the 94 minutes this film takes (off) of your life.

Michael Fassbender does quite a good job acting in this movie, especially considering he spends most of it hiding in a paper mache head. And that fake head thing isn't as gimmicky and annoying as I had feared when first hearing about this movie.

But that big fake head can't hide the fact that it is a fairly non-eventful movie. It plays around with a few themes like exploring creative processes and handling and overcoming mental illness (or rather: failing to do so), but it doesn't really get into any depth on either of those topics. Which would be ok if there was an overall storyline of interest. And the absence of that might also still be ok if it was simply a funny movie. But it isn't really any of these - it's a bit of all of that but in a way that doesn't really blend into the 'quirky gem' it likes to pretend to be.

The characters remain completely shallow, the drama and clashes between the various characters feel rather contrived throughout, and in the end you still don't really care for any of the characters or for the story as a whole.

Disappointing.