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| Left to right: Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson |
What is the sign of a great actor? Is it his ability to consume a role to the point where every movement and tic embodies someone else? Is it being over the top or so nuanced that the audience gets implicit emotional cues? Is it a variety of role that reflect a fearless performer who will do anything? Is it the ability to take half baked material and elevate it with sheer charisma? In a sense, all of this can be used to describe everything about director Lenny Abrahamson's Frank, which has a rather basic gimmick that in lesser hands would be drivel. However, in a film where Michael Fassbender spends majority of the film under a cartoonish head and has a band with an unpronounceable name who are trying to be The Doors, it all works. The story may be rather simple and has a very familiar theme, but thanks to Fassbender and a solid supporting cast, Frank ends up being one of the most charming, authentic films of the year.
The story follows Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) who falls into being the bass player in a band after he witnesses a musician poorly attempt to drown himself. Does the band like him because of his skills? It's more because he has a nest egg that can fund their recording with the artistic ingenue known as Frank (Fassbender), whose methods are unorthodox and his taste in music are peculiar. But damn if he isn't a modern day genius capable of crafting atmospheric gems that land the Irish band a gig at SXSW. With a mixture of commentary on social media and mental illness mixed in, this tale of an underdog rock band has a lot of joy and quirky characters to spare. The universe is both at times bleak and wondrously silly, familiarizing itself with the idea that Frank is a little unstable without over-sympathizing it.
The most striking thing that is a testament to Fassbender's acting is that we rarely see his emotions. While he sometimes describes them for comical effect, we are left to assume that he is in dread underneath the smiling, inflated head. With the ability to take his acting from the neck down into bizarre places, Frank feels simultaneously alien and fascinating. Most of all, he is believable as a towering force in the film as he has to deal with the ideas of success and collaborating with a failing band. The drama is real, yet we never see Frank react. The beauty is that the film creatively finds new visual yet reasonable ways to depict this. The head symbolizes a lot, including his inability to personally connect beyond music
With a film that has two character suicides, it doesn't feel like that tragic of a film. It also doesn't pander to its subjects, either. Along with great performances by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson, the film serves as a character study on why people become musicians. Some do it for the respect and money while others do it to feel emotionally satisfied. This film captures every essence of mental disorders. In the closing number in which Frank sings with his band a loving ballad, the overwhelming messages become clear, elevating the reality of this damaged individual who is unable to express himself in any way except through song. It only works because Fassbender's dedication creates an immediacy and the once hilarious appearance takes on sad, uncomfortable new contexts.
In a year that has seen an excellent array of films about musicians (God Help the Girl, We Are the Best!, Mistaken for Strangers), this one manages to feel the most original and exuberant. It could have to do with the feeling of the intersection between contemporary social media culture and a more traditional underdog tale. It isn't that the struggles are every apparent or grim, but it focuses on the failures of the mind. It's about the inability to overcome those struggles to accept anything less than perfection from you, even if you aren't in a very subjective medium. In general, musicians are given leeway in order to access their creative potential, yet nobody really focuses on why their eccentricities are necessary. Frank has ambitions to change that with a mix of great character moments, catchy songs, and one big metaphorical head of wisdom and despair.
Frank is a film that shouldn't work as impressively as it does. Yet it overcomes the quirky concept to create yet more proof that Fassbender is one of the best actors right now. Even in a cartoonish head, he feels real. With a solid cast that backs him up, there is a continuing sensibility in every frame that he has something important to say. It isn't about writing the magnum opus or getting a record contract. Frank is about trying to understand Frank, which is far more satisfying in ways that may be hard to top. The film pushes itself into exciting, new places consistently. It is strange, delightful, and profound when it wants to be. I doubt that there's anything close to the ingenuity here. It may not be the deepest film, but it is one of the most enjoyable films of the year.
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