Frank & Robot is a charming and offbeat film about an aging man and his unlikely friend. This film chugs slowly along, taking it’s sweet time in building a subtle yet strong relationship between our main character Frank (Frank Langella) and his new robot ‘butler’ (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard). With great performances by these two, as well as the exquisite supporting cast, Frank & Robot is certainly a real treat.
This film is set in the near future, in a time when robot technology has evolved enough to allow them to work with humans in a complete and interactive way. However compared to the more iRobot-esque films, where this sort of thing is combined with an all-futuristic-super-technology world, Frank & Robot is refreshing in its similarity to our present life.
Frank lives alone in a normal looking house is in a lovely, quiet, woody part of the world. He walks every day to the library to chat to his librarian crush Jennifer (Susan Saradon). However not is all quite right in Frank’s world; he seems to have trouble remembering things, is more lonely than he dares admit, and has a little problem stealing things from his local gift shop. Concerned by this all, his son, Hunter (James Marsden), comes and gives Frank a robot as an assistant to help around the house and, as we learn later, to help Frank lead a more active life.
Affronted by this idea at first, Frank begins to warm to the robot. Again, unlike traditional robot-oriented sci-fi films, this robot seems more akin to what we might actually encounter in the new future. Relatively ‘basic’, Frank’s Robot is quite content to simply help out around the house. However, Frank’s propensity to steal is titillated by the robots deft lock picking skills, and it’s not before long a plan begins to develop in Frank’s mind…
Frank & Robot is a real delight. It’s a slow paced narrative that relishes in developing the characters and their relationships with each other. The cinematography is equally lovely and the environment that Frank lives in almost becomes a character in itself. The new technologies of this future world take a backseat to the natural world that Frank lives in. The cast give great performances and really allow you to empathise fully with the characters. Little plot twists are subtle enough to be unexpected but do certainly tug on the heart strings – as they explore the love within a family that have slowly moved apart.
Overall verdict: Frank & Robot is a real little charmer that explores an old man’s struggle with his aging mind and body and how he comes to be saved by his little robot buddy, who’s simply doing as he was instructed. Great performances make this film a simple delight. Highly recommended.
Reviewer: Kevin Van Der Ham