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"Frank" explores the fine and not-so-fine line between creative genius and insanity. Although you might assume a movie about an alternative rock band with a lead singer who wears a giant fake head that he never takes off would be a work of fiction, the truth, as they say, is stranger, and provides a compelling basis for a movie.

"Frank" is co-written by Jon Ronson based on his experience playing keyboard in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band in the late '80s. Frank Sidebottom was the alter ego of a man named Chris Sievey, who wore a giant fake head almost identical to the one Frank (Michael Fassbender) wears in the movie. Ronson based the film's main character, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) on himself; both real and fictional Jon found themselves randomly in this band, ditching their existing lives in pursuit of musical greatness, trying to make sense of the enigma of the man in the giant head.

With screenwriter Peter Straughan's ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") help, Ronson dives into a fictional replication of his experience with the band. Gleeson's Jon is an aspiring songwriter completely lacking in inspiration who gets an unusual opportunity to play a gig for an experimental band called Soronprfbs after he witnesses their keyboardist attempting to drown himself. Jon has the time of his life and agrees to travel to Ireland with the group, only to discover it's not a road trip to play a few shows, but a retreat at which the unorthodox Frank will stop at nothing until he's recorded an astounding new album.

For all the mystery shrouding his character, Frank is far from the most eccentric band member. In fact, he's the most congenial. We also learn about the other keyboardist, Don's (Scoot McNairy), volatile history with mental illness and musician Clara's (Maggie Gyllenhaal) propensity for violence. Unsurprisingly, Jon's gleaning from it all is that deep adversity and mental anguish is a pre- requisite to talent.

Director Lenny Abrahamson brings a natural yet surreal quality that honors the weirdness of the story, while also helping us access the psychology of the characters and take interest in what's happening in a very rooted way. He keeps the reality of what's going on with its characters in play while experimenting with a number of scenes that push the bizarreness to varying levels. There are elements of black comedy, but also of honest, soul-stirring truth.

The first half of "Frank" focuses more on the creative process and the mental headspace necessary to operate at peak creativity. When Jon signs them up for a very promising gig and begins pushing his own creative agenda, forcing the story to leave the confines of the Ireland vacation home, the film turns to examine the real pain of its characters and what happens to creativity when complications of fandom and notoriety enter the mix.

Throughout it all we see a gradual change in Jon as a character, and he becomes less likable because of all that his dreams and naiveté have wrought. This has a slightly adverse effect on the viewing experience, making it kind of painful to watch all these troubled characters with their misguided attitudes drown themselves in a sea of expectations and principles. At the same time, this leads to an honest, moving redemptive arc in the final half hour of the movie, when this bizarre flower of a story opens up to reveal its fragile insides.

"Frank" can feel rough and disjointed tonally at points and grow a little irksome, but much like how a band with a weird sound still has artistic integrity somewhere underneath that drives that creative choice, "Frank" stays committed to looking at talent, creativity and mental illness in a very authentic, productive way that makes it worth the quirks.

~Steven C

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Greetings again from the darkness. Most movies fit pretty easily into a genre: drama, comedy, action, etc. This latest from film festival favorite Lenny Abrahamson is tough to classify. It begins with silly and funny inner-dialogue from an aspiring musician/songwriter (Domhnall Gleeson), transitions into a dark dramady with complex characters and dialogue, and finishes as a bleak statement on mental illness and the music business.

That's more than I would typically disclose, but some have described the film as an outright comedy and I find that unconcsionable. If you are expecting a laugh riot, you will not only be disappointed, but are likely to miss the unique perspective provided.

The screenplay is written by "The Men Who Stare at Goats" collaborators Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan. Clearly inspired by the late British comedian and musician Chris Sievey (and his character Frank Sidebottom), Mr. Ronson's work with Mr. Sievey is the driving force. It's also the reason Gleeson's character is emphasized over Michael Fassbender's titular character who dons the paper mache head for the bulk of the movie. This script decision probably keeps the film from being truly great.

The exceptional and attention-grabbing first 15 minutes set up a movie that dissolves into an exploration of the creative process within mental illness ... Franks states numerous times that he has a certificate (certifiable). There is also an ongoing battle between art and commerce, as waged by Maggie Gyllenhaal's character and that of Gleeson. Social Media power is on full display as this avant-garde performance art band gathers a huge following prior to ever really producing any music.

Without seeing Frank's facial expressions, we witness his transformation from mystic/guru to an unstable and socially uncomfortable dude striving for likability, but unsure what the term really means. Must artists suffer for their art? Why does society latch onto the newest social media gimmick? What is creative success and why are so many afraid of it? The film begs these and other unanswerable questions. Certainly interesting, but definitely not 90 minutes of laughter.

Funny, endearing movie led with a strange, flinty charm by Domhnall Gleeson, and expertly directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Within what is fundamentally a straightforward story, a lot of themes are packed - artistic credibility, the easy triumph of mediocrity, the nature of identity and individuality. And there are more. Too many, really.

The writers are keen to maintain a light tone, as if wary that the heavier themes might weigh us all down too much. Fortunately they have two major, definitely not mediocre, talents on hand to maintain the required balance: Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who are both amazing. For Fassbender in particular there needs to be a special award for succeeding in being intensely moving whilst wearing a false head.

So although the movie as a whole doesn't quite add up to more than the sum of its parts, it is nonetheless a wonderfully quirky, often hilarious, strangely touching piece of work. Well worth seeing and supporting.

I happened to see the trailer for a movie I had never heard of, called Frank, at 8:45AM this Saturday morning. Within five minutes of seeing the preview, I found that the Angelika Theater at Mockingbird Station was the only place in Dallas showing this wonderfully bizarre looking movie, and by 10:20AM, I was sitting in a dark room with about twelve other people, waiting to see just what this giant paper-mache head had in store for us.

Maybe I should step back to explain that last part. Frank revolves around an avant-garde musician names Frank, who is never seen without an oversized paper-mache mask on. The trailer promised quirky indie escapism, possibly some decent music, and some references to SXSW – ahhh, there is such beauty in under-promising and over-delivering.

For a brief moment, it feels like Frank will be little more than a stylized fictional Behind The Music type of movie because the central narrative is observed and reported from the viewpoint of an involved outsider, the new guy in the band. The outsider point of view is a perfect choice, however, because the audience then has the same questions as the narrator so we're all in it together. Is the end product of music/art as important as the process of creating it or who you create it with? Frank captures the ambition and compulsion of creating art and very harshly slaps away any generalizations of how or why an artist is the way he is. The paper- mache head isn't a gimmick for the movie or the music.

On the topic of music, Frank and his band The Soronprfbs, are easily ranked in the top five fictional bands – The Wonders(That Thing You Do), Stillwater(Almost Famous), Eddie & The Cruisers(Eddie & The Crusiers), Wylde Ratttz(Velvet Goldmine), and The Soronprfbs(Frank). The music falls somewhere between The Flaming Lips, Jim Morrison, and an extremely catchy coffee shop rambler.

The band is absolutely mesmerizing every single second they are on the screen and much of that credit has to go to Michael Fassbender. Because we can't see his face, every bit of emotion must be poured out elsewhere. Fassbender delivers an extremely physical performance. From the combination of his hands and voice, to the way he shuffles when uncomfortable, to the way he loses control when he sings, the small crowd that happens to see Frank this year will be seeing one of the best performances of 2014.

It has been almost two days since I saw Frank and I still can't get it out of my mind. Maybe it's the music or maybe it's the acting but I think the bigger reason is that it asks the questions I thought only I had. How does someone create something both abstract and powerful? What part of my brain should I be tapping into? Why can't I? Frank is a photograph of the special brand of artistic jealousy that wants to be or at least be part of something bigger and better than ourselves, all while realizing the privilege of simply getting to be witness to that greatness.

The movie has engaging, funny and moving.It also made me jump more than any horror movie ever has. It has some wonderful scenes that made me laugh out loud and the direction is just beautiful with some truly clever touches. The comedy is effortless, the dialogue is smart but not pretentious, the performances are elegant and understated. Fassbender is great and the head thing really works for him Frank is a hard film to easily define and although it manages to remain on the right side of upbeat with plenty of laughs it does gently broach issues revolving around mental health. The exploits of the band trying to make a album touch on notions of artistic endeavour, originality and the sphere that songwriters and musicians have to encounter in trying to be creative

Michael Fassbender dons a huge fake head in the enjoyable Frank showing at Sundance London. The movie is a fictionalised account based on a book written by journalist Jon Ronson who also co wrote the screenplay. In the 1980s Ronson played keyboards in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band in which Frank wore a big fake head and nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity.

In a small quiet English seaside town Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to pursue his passion for writing songs in between working at his humdrum day job. Even given his undoubted enthusiasm for trying to be creative Jon struggles to actually write anything even vaguely resembling a half decent couple of lyrics. On Twitter he likes to tweet his songwriting status or more the lack of it along with updates on what he is eating for lunch. But when a band comes to town and their keyboard player goes off the rails he sees opportunity knocking to join the band for an actual gig. Shortly after he finds himself travelling with the band to Ireland to record an album which ends up taking him on a pretty epic journey.

Jon's new band members are a weird, odd bunch of characters which include the slightly crazed and volatile Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Don (Scoot McNairy) an ex-keyboard player of the band who now operates as a kind of manager, and then there's Frank the band's enigmatic front man played by Fassbender and who insists on wearing an over-sized fake head at all times.

Frank is a hard film to easily define and although it manages to remain on the right side of upbeat with plenty of laughs it does gently broach issues revolving around mental health. The exploits of the band trying to make a album touch on notions of artistic endeavour, originality and the sphere that songwriters and musicians have to encounter in trying to be creative.

While generally having to be the subject of suspicion and hostility enforced by most of the band Jon is encouraged by Frank's friendship and welcome remarks about his on the face of it tragically lame attempts at songwriting and starts to be become more emboldened about his actual merits and worthiness. Gleeson does a terrific job in portraying his character Jon's transformation and voyage from awkward geeky young dude trying hard to fit in, to feeling like he was the main man in charge of the band's destiny and even catalyst towards the success he so craves. Ultimately though a hard lesson in self discovery awaits him.

The movie keeps you guessing about what is going to happen next and trying to work out the main characters and how they interact with each other. In the history of bands there are lots of examples of artistic spats, personal issues and tragedies, conflicts, inner working quirks and inspiration which are all evident in Frank.

Summing up Frank is a thoughtful, imaginative and amusing piece of work making for a hugely watchable and enjoyable movie.

Frank is like "Experimental Music: The Movie." Its wild and weird and seemingly meaningful. It's also kind of boring. And the music kind of slaps. Idk man.

I went to see Frank at the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton with my wife. I was not expecting much; I tend to dislike rock biopics and the whole premise of man-in-giant-papier-mache-head thing seemed gimmicky.

Frank is wonderful. The comedy is effortless, the dialogue is smart but not pretentious, the performances are elegant and understated. Fassbender is great and the head thing really works for him.

One of the real pleasures of this film is its narrative depth. The story arcs of the protagonists manage to be wholly natural and yet surprisingly subversive. At no point does the film simplify or 'talk down' to the audience.

The music is good too.

Go see it. Go see it while it is still in the cinema.

-What happened to Frank? -Something must have happened to make him like that. -Nothing happened to him. He's got a mental illness. -The torment he went through...to make the great musc. -The torment didn't make the music. He was always musical. If anything, it solwed him down. ---

Frank is probably the hardest film that I have ever watched to describe to someone who has never watched it. After viewing I had literally nothing to say. This is because it was a truly excellent watch.

I was initially attracted to 'Frank' by its strange and wacky trailer with promised an insane black comedy.

The first hour of Frank delivers on this completely and it is hugely entertaining. Some of the funniest scenes that I've seen at the cinema this year. This in my mind is properly revised comedy, until the film which is currently sitting at the top of the box office charts 'bad neighbours.' Anyways i digress.

During the last portion of the film there is a massive shift in the films tone, which could have easily been extremely jarring for the viewer but it is delivered in such a way that it only seems natural. This is when I decided that I did truly love the film. Not only was i capable of making me laugh but then also then to look at the more serious end of the coin.

I don't think that 'Frank' will make anywhere near as much money as some of the larger blockbuster which came out this week, but I done believe that it will linger in the memory of those who watch it. I can almost guarantee that Frank will become a cult classic over time.

(Also the soundtrack is bloody brilliant)

I enjoyed the film for what it was, but I went to college in Manchester at the time when Frank was first a celebrity on the local scene. Sadly all of that was lost, where was Little Frank, the appearances on the telly, not one mention of Timperley, He was English, he was a Northern lad, he was as Manc as you can get, how the hell did this end up in America?

Now this has been made, and I hope it made some money, could that be reinvested to make a proper film about Frank, set in the right place, that reflects the reality of his life.

As I said I enjoyed the film and if I had no memories of Frank from my younger days then it wouldn't matter, but I do have those memories so it matters. Next thing will be a film about Tony Wilson and it will be all set in LA or New York, or a film about the creation of the Northern Football Union set in a pub in Wales instead of Huddersfield. I dislike revisionism like this where to gain an audience the truth and facts can do one.

At the end of any movie, there are usually a few things to consider. What were the redeeming qualities of the primary actors, what was the point of the show.

In the case of frank, I can't see much of their. Jon is a self-centered ass. Initially it seems that the show might be about a young man chasing his dream with a bunch of oddballs, but it isn't, he's just an ass. Frank is an odd recluse who wears a wooden head (a premise that might be funny if it went anywhere). The other band members are barely-functional psychotics (again, a concept that *could* be interesting, but isn't.

Overall, the movie is BORING, and I'm not the typical guns-and-explosions type moviegoer but rather somebody who likes a movie that's intellectually stimulating.

It's not funny. It's not very dramatic. It's not very interesting. Overall, it's just NOT GOOD.

"Frank" is a Comedy - Drama movie in which we watch a man joining an eccentric pop band in order to become a famous musician. There he meets Frank who is always wear a big mask and he is a very mysterious person.

I liked this movie very much because it had a simple but very mysterious and interesting plot. The interpretations of both Domhnall Gleeson who played as Jon Burroughs and Michael Fassbender who played as Frank were very good and I believe that their interpretations made the difference in this movie. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Maggie Gyllenhaal's who played as Clara and she was equally good. Finally, I have to say that "Frank" is a very good and interesting movie that has deeper meanings and amazing performances made by the cast.

Frank is an odd film meddling with various themes and emotions as well as showcasing a genre that many movie goers can't label with ease. The movie one would think is a dramedy on the music industry and how to achieve fame but there are many more underlining themes that only skim the surface of this movie. The movie tells the story of Jon a wanna be musician who is given a chance to join this quirky band called the Soronprfbs lead by this mysterious character called Frank who always seen wearing a paper mache head. There were many ways this film could have gone and even until the end of the movie because Frank was one of the most unpredictable characters I have witnessed. All the other characters were fairly interesting as well because they all had their own problems whether it be mental problems or self esteem or some other issue. This made the members parallel in a way showing that music acts as some kind of a therapy to liberate us from our busy lives. The acting was good as well and Fassenbender did a great performance making the character Frank the cornerstone of the movie with his unpredictable nature. The movie is also very mysterious and vague regarding its message and we don't get to learn much of Frank other than his interactions without seeing his face.

7/10 Interesting movie

They say that truth is stranger than fiction. This Film is "OK" and it's based on a novel, based on the real-life story of Frank Sidebottom (Chris Sievey). "Being Frank" - the 2018 documentary about the life and death of Chris Sievey is a work of incredible brilliance. Hysterically funny, touching, sad, insightful and shows the absolute and utterly mad genius that was Chris. If you liked "Frank", be prepared to have your head exploded by the true story. "Frank" is not very well paced, why so long stuck in the middle of Ireland. The leaping from Ireland to the South X South West music festival (in the same van?) defies any logic. Sorry to Domhall Gleeson, but his character just didn't work for me. RIP Chris Sievey, a lost genius.

So Frank is a great film. Let's be clear, this is not a bio-pic. It was inspired by Frank Sidebottom in so much as the story is about a band whose front man wears a big papier-mâché head.

It's a really lovely story of an odd group of musicians and their new keyboard player Jon. The musicians are all a bit barking and the beautiful Maggie Gyllenhaal is the craziest. The whole cast are superb and Michael Fassbender is excellent under the head as well as showing that he is a great vocalist too.

The film is engaging, funny and moving.It also made me jump more than any horror movie ever has. It has some wonderful scenes that made me laugh out loud and the direction is just beautiful with some truly clever touches.

It starts with a very unusual aural soundscape that draws you in immediately and finishes with the band's songs playing over the credits that guarantee you won't leave until the final note of "Lone Standing Tuft".

Incidentally a documentary about Frank Sidebottom is in production right now and Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story will be out soon.

Frank is a film that is misleading in two ways - firstly, despite reprising the head, the titular character is not an attempt at the existing Frank Sidebottom character. Secondly, it is often presented as a comedy, which is true in some ways but ultimately the film is more a sort of dark comedy/satire that largely veers into drama territory and away from jokes. That said, the film documents a young keyboardist who is drafted into a band led by the titular Frank. The band is avant-garde and difficult with Frank as a sort of underappreciated genius who inspires devotion from his band - a devotion which allows him to push them to their outer limits both artistically and personally. The young keyboardist desires to push things in a more radio-friendly direction and this creates tension with the existing band members who tend to see Frank's art as sacred. Without giving away too much of the plot, the film explores the tension between these two impulses and the members of the band who support either one - and how a sudden rise in popularity pushes that tension to a boiling point. All of this has the makings of a great film, but there is little to grasp onto. The music is alright but hardly the avant-garde masterwork it would need to be to make the discussion of Frank's genius make sense. The general underlying thought of the film seems to be that everyone's interest in Frank is primarily for their own greedy reasons - that the mask (literally and figuratively) and not the man behind it is what drives their interest. This would befit a character who had an eccentric but undeniably masterful body of work - word-of-mouth cult figures like Daniel Johnston, R. Stevie Moore, and Gary Wilson come to mind - but the music itself is unfortunately somewhat forgettable and this undermines Frank's own outsider art appeal. The characters are largely quite greedy and self-involved in keeping with that theme, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think the film keeps the requisite distance from the characters to make it work, and so you are left with the sense that it wants you to both identify with and dislike everyone. The effect, for me, was exhausting - but I can understand the appeal for many. The film is certainly well shot and well acted, and it is deserving of recognition for its unique concept, but it left me and my friends somewhat cold and empty afterwards. If you're looking for a straightforward comedy about being in a band, like this was marketed as, you'd best go for the Swedish film "We Are The Best" which has a more empathetic approach to its characters that contrasts with its darker undercurrents. If you want to explore a unique take on the phenomenon of the outsider artist and the struggle over artistic license, and don't mind a massive dose of cynicism in the process, then you may strongly connect with Frank in a way that I couldn't.

An odd and wonderful mix of comedy and sadness, absurdity and reality, playfulness and originality. The acting is terrific throughout, the cast creating slightly larger than life comic characters that somehow still feel real enough to invest in emotionally. It's a tone few movies get right. "Harold and Maude" comes to mind.

Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) wants to be a pop star in the worst way (literally). He walks around writing amusingly bad pop tunes in his head. Life as a musician seems only a dream when as luck would have it a band, playing in his home town for just one night, needs a replacement when their keyboard player goes bonkers, and Jon is in the right place at the right moment. Thus begins Jon's journey with a band of misfits, who may be geniuses or just delusional... or both.

They are led by Frank (Michael Fassbender) an amiable if deeply odd fellow, who wears a giant plaster head that he never takes off, even to sleep. His counterweight is the angry, punky and edgy Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is fiercely protective of the fragile Frank, and sees Jon's attempts to get the band to go mainstream as dangerous to both their artistic integrity, and Frank's well being. All this leads to adventures, changes, discoveries and insights that are often outrageous and darkly funny, but ultimately quite moving as well.

Also to be noted is just how great the music and songs created for the film are. They have to be "off" enough to be funny, but good enough for us to believe there really is something to Frank's talents. This is done very well, both in the writing and performing, the actors showing some musical chops, and the film creating tunes that, to my surprise have been caught in my head for days.

Indeed, the whole film has stuck with me far more deeply than I imagined while I was watching it. There's a haunting quality behind the humor that captures what special about "outsider" art, and it gives the film a resonance and gravity to go along with it's light-handed playfulness.

I wasn't sure what I was going into seeing this movie, but I was delighted at what it ended up being. Mostly.

It's a pretty straight forward exploration of creativity, fame, and to some extent mental health. It's not so much about what good music is, but rather how talent evolves, and perhaps how it's more than something inherent in one person. I especially loved their take on the idea of making popular music, and Frank's attitude towards it.

I like how they used the "creative isolation" aspect of many (real) musicians story in a fictional setting. I can't remember having seen that being done before.

All that said, the movie doesn't seem to have much ambition to be more than a fun movie about silly characters. There are touching moments and an arch to many of the characters, but other than some (kind of heavy handed) comments on talent and fame, it's mostly "just" a fun ride. I'm not saying that that's bad, but I'm sure there's material enough in the story to take it even further. Especially in developing the relationships between the characters, and the motivations (which at times weren't that believable).

I never thought that anything remotely connected to Frank Sidebottom would leave me feeling angry but I can't remember the last time I was so offended by a movie. I'm appalled at the way this film has tried to connect itself with the real Frank Sidebottom in any way, it's like some kind of hideous nightmareish American 'profound' version of Frank Sidebottom, tacked onto some cooler-than-thou hipster flick ...totally and utterly wrong from every angle. Frank Sidebottom was a true one-off, and this attempt to hijack his legacy and re-package it for a twitter/facebook obsessed twenty-something market is preposterous. Now I need to go and listen to my Radio Timperley cassettes on full volume and sing Guess Whose Been On Match Of The Day at the top of my voice for an hour just to get this abomination out of my head. As the great man himself would put it, absolutely bobbins.

Perhaps we can look forward to the sequel, "Frank 2". Based on the life of Frank Zappa, starring Danny Dyer doing his best 'Danny Dyer' voice in the title role?