Frank: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Michael Fassbender stars as Frank, a genius rock musician who performs wearing a giant fake head that he never removes. Things get rocky between his protective bandmate Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and newcomer Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), who is convinced they’re meant for stardom. The band lands their biggest gig, but are they ready? And is the world?
There are times when a movie comes along that is so strange and weird that you can’t help but be interested in checking it out. This is one of those times. It’s a film that is eclectic as the music that is presented with a story that is funny, touching and heartwarming all rolled into one. Gleeson’s character is the glue that holds the film together with his strive for greatness within a band that just wants to create music. It drives the story along nicely while still giving plenty of attention to Fassbender and his character. Fassbender bring so much to his role in the film and does it wearing a big fake head the entire time. You wouldn’t think it would work well but it most certainly did. Fassbender uses what he has and creates fantastic emotional scenes along with some hilariously weird ones to make this an irresistible story. Since I’m a Texan my favorite part was them going to play at SXSW and Frank’s meltdown was one of the funniest moments in the film. Gyllenhaal always gives a great performance in every film and this was no different. She gets lost in her roles and is truly great at becoming the character. Honorable mention goes to Scoot McNairy though. He’s such a great actor and people are starting to take notice. In this film he has a simple hippie like sensibility but is actually completely out of his mind. Although he isn’t in the entire film he most certainly leaves a lasting impression on the storyline. Frank is a movie that has it’s weirdness to it but it’s the right amount of weird to get people invested and interested. Trust me, watch this one even if it’s just for the big fake head.
Special Features:
Deleted Scenes – A few really good scenes here. One of them includes the full creation of a song.
Behind the Sounds – The sound team talks a bit about what it was link putting the music together and getting the live performances recorded properly for the film.
Behind the Mask – Cast and crew talk about what it’s like to be one set with a man that has a fake head on the entire time.
Meet the Band – An intro of each character by the actors that play them.
What Is the Name of the Band? – The cast offers up their interpretation of how the band’s name is pronounced.
Interview with Director Lenny Abrahamson – A extremely good 20 minute feature with the director. He talks about the theme of the film as well as what he was exactly going for.
AXS TV: A Look at Frank – Your basic EPK with small interviews snippets mixed with footage of the film.
