Frank & Lola

Michael Shannon, one of my favorite actors, works a lot and takes chances with inexperienced directors so there are bound to be some misfires. Frank and Lola is definitely one of the misfires.

Director and writer Matthew Ross blew the beginning and tried to compensate for this early mishap in the editing room. The first twenty minutes, improperly composed, distract from essential character and relationship development necessary to the story's foundation. It is as though a slingshot is never quite pulled back and so the stone simply dribbles to the ground, missing its target.

The actors can not be faulted, the premise is intriguing and the potential for an unusual, impactful film exists here. It is just a disappointment that it never comes together despite the great actors involved.

I do not recommend this film. The theme of trust in relationships in a story involving jealousy and sexual intrigue should be much more compelling.

"Beware, my Lord, of jealousy, it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on." Iago in Othello

Frank (Michael Shannon), a top-rated chef in Vegas, falls for young fashion designer Lola (Imogen Poots) and that's the beginning and end. That is, his uneventful life just became upended by a girl he needs to trust but doesn't appear to merit it. Such is the conflict and drama of this small, tense, and satisfying drama with just a hint of thriller.

While Frank & Lola is a modern romance fraught with uncertainty because the principals orbit by themselves hoping to collide with love rather than let it ripen. The not-so-likely love between this older man and younger lost soul doesn't so much move on lust as it does on the couple's passion to do the right thing in the face of their defaults.

Lola's one-night stand and her admission to Frank start him into a spell of mistrust that propels the film thereafter. The film's center is in Shannon's believably smart man tossed in jealousy and mistrust that leads to violence and uncertain rapprochement with her.

Poots is marvelous as a lost soul looking in the wrong places--her eyes are the most soulful and vulnerable in cinema today. Shannon's minimalistic acting relays the perfect hard-boiled hero of few words. But be careful, he can see into your heart and with a word or two tell the whole sordid details of your innocence lost.

Frank & Lola is heavy on engaging dialogue and light on thriller action. Its strength is relaying how little we know about the ones closest to us.

Frank & Lola- honestly i fell in love with this movie the moment i saw the poster. It looked like an intense love story and it was! i enjoyed watching this film. Debutant director Matthew Ross proves he has talent & he did a decent job considering his first movie. Wont be revelaing the plot as it will spoil the fun for those wanting to see it. Micheal Shannon is such a terrific actor. He played the possessive and intense lover superbly... I fell in love with actress Imogen Poots...such a beauty <3 ..even she has given a fantastic performance. Both have dynamic chemistry on screen. Its a 80 min crisp movie and i liked the way the movie ended..IMO it took the film to another level. Highly recommend to watch this film for the acting and story.

I'm a little surprised by the current 5.9 rating on here, so I really felt I needed to write a review.

The film is a little offbeat, definitely not your standard Hollywood fare. It's gritty, and fairly uncompromising. It takes place in Las Vegas and Paris, and the reason I mention that is because this sort of feels more like a French film than the American film that it actually is.

It is an American film that was selected for Sundance, and then was picked up by a Hollywood distributor.

For a person like myself who has literally seen thousands of films from all over the world, I understand and appreciate the rarity of realist films like this with very human characters and very real feelings.

I enjoyed the film entirely, and I definitely plan to watch it at least one more time in my life. It's a good film at the very least, and perhaps even better. I suspect that I may even rate this film a little higher upon a second viewing. It's one of those types of films that may be enjoyed even more with a less surprised viewer, because yes, the film like real life is a little unsettling at times. There was no doubt at the end of the film however that I definitely enjoyed it a lot.

I must mention that I thought both Shannon and Poots were nothing short of tremendous.

To end, let me just say that if you want something not so standard, or you're a huge film buff who's seen tons, definitely see this film!!

7.5/10

Greetings again from the darkness. Michael Shannon continues to be one of the most interesting actors working today. In this first feature from writer/director Matthew Ross, Mr. Shannon is the titular Frank, and his pained facial expressions elevate this neo-noir into a dark and intriguing exposition on male obsession and sexual jealousy.

The abrupt opening scene finds Frank and Lola (Imogen Poots) frolicking in bed after obviously just meeting for the first time that evening. We (and Lola) know we are in for something a bit different when Frank slams on the breaks and states, "Maybe we should wait until next time." Lola is taken aback, and we are soon watching this relationship develop … while simultaneously noting the subtle signs of troubled pasts for each of them.

Frank is a talented French chef and Lola is just starting her career as a fashion designer. His dark side flashes a bit more often, but before Lola ever comes clean, we realize there is unhappiness in her past. They seem to be two tortured souls in a jinxed relationship.

Filmmaker Ross keeps us (and Frank) on our toes as the script seems to continually offer yet another deeply held secret or mysterious character. Justin Long plays Lola's new employer, while the rarely-seen-these-days Rosanna Arquette plays Lola's name-dropping mother. However, it's Michael Nyquist (so great in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as the suave Frenchman with ties to Lola's past and present that really makes things interesting … and somehow even darker. His wife is played by the terrific French actress Emmanuelle Devos. Her screen time is limited, yet crucial.

The film was well received at Sundance, and it shares the creepiness of such films as Basic Instinct, Body Heat and Night Moves. Rarely do contemporary movies go as deep into the male psyche of obsession as this one, and the throw-back atmosphere is a perfect fit for the tone. Not many actors simmer like Michael Shannon, and the story offers him the perfect vehicle to remind us that everyone longs to be loved - even when we aren't sure we deserve it.