Un amigo para Frank

I enjoyed "Robot & Frank", though I am not quite sure why I've seen it referred to as a comedy or a 'buddy comedy'. It's actually a rather serious and ultimately depressing film--but one that is highly original.

Frank Langella stars as an aging man who is slipping mentally and physically. Exasperated, his son decides to do something to free him from having to worry about his father--buy him a helper robot that will keep an eye on him and care for him. However, Langella's memory is spotty--and the very larcenous part of his past is still alive and kicking. And, he's hoping that the robot might help him on his next caper.

The film is a bit hard to rate. I was stuck between a 7 and an 8. It is super-original and fresh but also a bit of a downer--particularly towards the end. It's nice to see some very good acting but I wish the film was a bit more fulfilling. What did you think? Did you also find it a tad unsatisfying when all was said and done. Good--very good. But also not exactly an enjoyable film.

I didn't expect much. Frank Langella is a great old actor, but I don't really like him much. Same for Susan Sarandon. Then it is an indie film, something that just a few people would see in a limited release. So I hoped for something slightly funny, maybe with crazy people that try to seem deep, that kind of stuff. Well, I was mistaken on all counts!

Frank Langella played beautifully his role of an amnesic old man helped by a caretaker robot to plan and execute heists. His son and daughter have minimal roles, as well as most other actors. Susan Sarandon's important role is revealed towards the end. All actors play very well, though the gem of this movie is the story and the little details in the script. Finally I can say that I saw a movie with a fantastic script and am naturally puzzled how this kind of film gets a limited release.

Bottom line: a comedic drama which explores the depth of soul, while taking us through a story that is both original and very well written and executed. The Keystone cops type of thing at the end blew it a little for me, but the rest is top notch and the film is definitely worth the watch.

Robot and Frank has a lot of rich themes to it that only really came to me while i was thinking about it after-wards...the film is a lot deeper and layered with meaning and symbolism then it initially appears to be--but enough about that--is the robot awesome??? He's more cute then awesome--but he is one charming robot! In fact he kind of reminded me of the one Kevin Spacey voiced in the Sam Rockwell movie "Moon" In fact this whole movie itself--from its low key tone, to its homey set design, to its somewhat enigmatic ending reminded of that 2009 film.

Frank Langella does a great job here--he really grounds the film in reality--which is a great thing because the longer the film goes on, the more incredible and outlandish it becomes---there are some reveals that happen way too quickly throughout and aren't seemingly set up so well but thanks to the amazing chemistry that Langella and the robot develop with one another (thanks to excellent voice work by Peter Sarsgaard)--you kind of shrug your shoulders and go with it...or at least i did. (its really only later that you realize why the film's reveals had to be so quickly shoe-horned in there and that is all i will say about that.) Langella is a man showing early signs of memory loss and is clearly in the beginning of what might end up ultimately being the loss of his mental faculties, he of course doesn't think this is true--and why should he? He's keeping himself busy, his mind active, he reads a lot, he goes to the library and flirts with Susan Surandon's kinda hot Liberian a lot, he seems like he'd be a lot sharper then he does whenever he finds himself around his rather angry son. It doesn't help that he keeps stealing these carved bars of soap from a bath and body-works shop that he insists is supposed to be his favorite diner Harry's ("but dad-harry's closed down years ago" is the constant refrain from whomever langella tells that he's gonna eat at harry's..or that fact that he keeps asking his son how things are at Princeton. "dad i haven't been to Princeton in years." uh-oh) His son (played with a nice mixture of intense worry, frustration, and some good deadpan humor by James Marsden) having had enough of having to drive out to check up on his father over and over again gets him a live in robot health care professional/servant! (why its all the rage among the elderly and infirm these days!) Langella is predictably agitated by this (who wouldn't be?) but in some rather quick and amusing scenes manages to be won over by the robot---it helps that the robot helper has some awesome advantages hidden up its sleeve--such as a very tasty lasagna recipe, a memory that can be screened on a TV screen, and a nice ability to zing frank back for starters.

The film then makes a very quick--almost whip-lash inducing reveal that Frank was in fact a jewel thief/cat burglar as a young man. It then again almost too quickly gives him a perfect caper to try and pull. Susan Surandon's job is in danger of being replaced by--robot librarians...in fact the whole library's inventory of books is in danger of being replaced by kindles and technology. (goodbye book jackets and musty pages, hello sleek shiny neon colored plastic) Its the library's most valuable book (an old hardbound copy of Don Quixote) and his want to impress the librarian that finally kicks the plot into gear---Frank's gonna return to his cat burglarizing ways with the help of his trusty robot sidekick. Only problem--the robot's too good at it--the thievery causes Frank to feel young again and this leads to him wanting to go on an even bigger score. You can pretty much guess where the film goes from there--except there are many many jagged pieces here and there that don't quite fit as Frank later says while examining the loot.

The film has a great sense of tone--its perfectly deadpan and nicely low-key the whole time, never giving certain scenes more weight then they need to be. The film has some really quick but also really funny moments here and there throughout--some of which almost make the whole thing worth sitting through itself. However the film also has some almost too neat coincidences, a much too enigmatic ending that wants the viewer to decide for him/her self what it all means, and a not particularly interesting go nowhere subplot involving Liv Tyler as Frank's robot helper hating daughter (she wants to liberate the robot servers and stop making them slaves--etc, etc. she mostly exists i think to humanize frank, and make him someone who actually means a lot to someone flesh and blood so that his growing relationship to robot will be more believable--but liv tyler has so little to do in this movie, i kept wondering why she was there to begin with--i'm still wondering quite honestly...her character doesn't quite make a lot of sense but whatever) Film is very amusing, and i feel very much worth watching on the whole despite its somewhat maddening flaws--however if you're paying close attention to what's actually on screen--i think the film will either grow on you as you think about it after-wards, or will frustrate you madly--i thought it was pretty clever--but then again i also thought the robot was cute.

"How do you know this whole thing isn't just one big scam?" Frank (Langella) is an ex-jewel thief who is living alone and is getting dementia. Worried about his dad his son Hunter (Marsden) gives him a gift, a robot to help him remember things and help out around the house. At first Frank is opposed until he learns he can teach the robot to be his partner. I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie going in. It looked OK but also had a feeling it was going to be slow and a little dry. I was wrong. While the movie is not at all action packed or exciting it had an original idea that really kept you interested the entire time and I found it to be an enjoyable movie. There is comedy in this and the way its presented makes it seem like this thing could really happen. The movie is actually surprisingly touching and well worth seeing. I just don't know if I'd watch it again, but I'm glad I saw it once. Overall, a good and heartfelt movie that is well worth checking out. I give it a B.

A funny & touching film that is very effective at getting the audience to identify and empathize with Frank Langella's aging character, a former cat burglar who is gradually growing senile. Frank's son buys him a robot caretaker --a health-nut disciplinarian with a soft spot in its hardware heart -- and Frank eventually persuades the robot to be his partner-in-crime in some late-life capers he has planned.

The film is cleverly and ambiguously set in the "near future," so the 30- & 40-somethings of today could easily be the Franks of tomorrow: still using the slang of the 2000s & 2010s, not scared of the latest technology but still somewhat befuddled by it, and rather aghast when young people ask us about our quaint "relationship with printed media."