The roots of Frank lie in a newspaper article penned by writer Jon Ronson, who spent time as a keyboard player in Frank Sidebottom’s Oh Blimey Big Band. Sidebottom was the comedic alter ego of musician Chris Sievey but the film is far from a tired tribute to Sidebottom’s aloof persona and gigantic papier-mâché head. Instead it forms the basis for a charming narrative that sees the strident resolve of an indie group tested as it tries to find its identity and cast aside self-doubt.
The dorkish naivety of wannabe pop star Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) provides the film’s only link to ‘reality’. A chance encounter results in him joining indie group The Soronprfbs after the previous keyboard incumbent drowns at sea. Keen for any excuse to leave his meandering office job, Burroughs is summoned to Ireland where he and the band spend 12 difficult months bunkered down in a cabin in the Irish countryside trying to find the creative spark necessary for their new album. Jon plays the squeaky clean, naive pawn in the new group and is immediately set upon by the band’s French-speaking bassist and difficult theremin player Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) all in the name of artistic integrity. When the band is offered a lucrative slot to play at the SXSW festival – a springboard towards indie stardom – the sacrifices for success are soon apparent.
Michael Fassbender as Frank is strangely liberated by his unwieldy mask. Forced to speak with his body and strangely enough through music (he plays guitar and sings surprisingly well throughout), Fassbender is convincing as the band’s spiritual and songwriting guru. Frank tiptoes the fine line between genius and sanity that at once evokes thoughts of music luminaries such as Captain Beefheart, yet tests our oft-repeated clichés about troubled minds.
For all its whimsy, the film has a dark and brooding undercurrent that brilliantly captures the anxiety, narcissism and inertia involved in creating and maintaining an indie band.
Director Lenny Abrahamson has done a great job of wrangling a series of disparate, quirky characters that never quite cross the border into ridiculousness. While the film is certainly an acquired taste, Frank’s tune is worth listening to.
3/5 stars
Frank opens in cinemas Thursday June 19.
