Frank e o Robô

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.

It's hard to fault this movie. Literally. I was going to rate it as an 8, but I have to give it a 9 because I can't think of anything about it to criticise.

The plot is rather simple. Frank is a confused older man who is finding it difficult to take care of himself. He is given a robot medical assistant who is programmed to do only one thing: help Frank. Frank resists mightily at first, but soon Frank improves remarkably and takes up his earlier vocation: stealing jewels. It turns out that the robot's programming does not extend to obeying the law...

This film is interesting, surprising, heart-warming, intelligent, thought-provoking, amusing, understated, well written and well directed. It delivers first-rate performances by first-rate actors.

It defies categorisation. Is it science fiction? A heist movie? A family drama? A melancholic feel-good story about aging? It has no shootouts, no car chases, no superspies, no superheros, no martial arts scenes, no demented villains. What it does have is character development, good writing and a nice story.

Kudos to Schreier, Ford, Langella and Sarandon.

Robot & Frank opens nationally this week only at a limited number of select art-house theaters across the country, and most likely won't get the larger release it deserves…which frankly is too bad. The film uniquely crosses across so many genre borders and can best be described as a dramedy meets a heist thriller. Robot & Frank is incredibly charming, funny and moving.

Writer Christopher D. Ford pens his rare tale set sometime in the ambiguous near future. He doesn't worry about flying cars or futuristic fashion, and keeps this tale grounded in a plausible future that is easily believable. First time director Jake Schreier reveals a mature ability to find the perfect pacing that develops the characters with ease and exact timing that turns the comedy bits into gold.

Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, Good Night, and Good Luck) is nothing short of exceptional as the title character of Frank. He is hilarious and poignant as the surly ex-con who is starting to lose his mind, and radiates a million emotions across his face without saying a word. If this film could possibly find a larger audience, Langella would have a good shot at punching his Oscar card again.

The smaller supporting cast plays in perfect to establish Frank's present and his past. Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise, Dead Man Walking) radiates a beautiful sadness playing a lonely librarian and one of Frank's only connections to the real world. Liv Tyler (Lord of the Rings, Armageddon) and James Marsden (X-Men, 27 Dresses) are solid as Frank's grown-up kids who don't have the time to care for their father and his worsening condition. Best of all is Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Garden State) who brings a perfect sense of comedy and real life validation as the voice of the robot. His dry wit steals the scene on numerous occasions.

Robot & Frank is one of the best films of the year. It's a mystery why bigger studio distributors are so afraid to fully get behind a film like this and push it out the mass audience, especially when you think about the $80 million that was spent on advertising costs for a film like Battleship alone. Robot & Frank is funny, exciting and touching. What else does a movie need?

For more quick reviews check out www.FilmStallion.com

"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.

Robot and Frank is a sweet and tender drama, set in what it proclaims to be "the near future," about a retired cat-burglar, responsible for several crimes that were said to rob the insurance criminals and the robot that is placed in his life as a caregiver when he becomes no longer able-bodied enough to do so. The man is Frank (Frank Langella), an ex-convict beginning to experience dementia/Alzheimer's like symptoms. His son, Hunter (James Marsden), is tired of commuting ten hours round-trip on a weekly basis to care for his father, so to assure his safety and health, he buys him a slick domestic robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), which is programmed to help the elderly in their daily activities. The bot also promotes a rather therapeutic lifestyle, emphasizing healthy eating habits and cognitive exercises to restore and maintain brain activity. I can only hope these things become available publicly in the near future.

As expected, Frank is hesitant to use the robot, finding it useless since he sees himself as capable to take care of himself. Yet when he realizes that the robot doesn't have the conscious ability to distinguish ethical behavior from illegal behavior, Frank believes he can get back into the petty-crime business and use the robot as a lock-picking device. Their first crime involves stealing a rare antique book from the local library, which is looking to overhaul its print media format in favor of the digital age. The librarian, Jennifer (Susan Sarandon), who Frank begins to develop a small little crush on, is dismayed, but coping with the loss of print books in the world, so Frank believes that his effort to save one of the rarest books of all time will make her a bit happier.

A subplot involves Frank's daughter Madison (Liv Tyler), who works on-location in Turkmenistan, coming to visit him shortly after Hunter gives him the robot, to show that human-care is the best care of all and that robots can not provide a human with the same kind of love a human can. She possesses something of the opinion Frank held before this robot came into his life, and we wonder if she will come out changed like him.

The "near future" presented is the kind of near future that we ourselves can kind of predict, rather than it being a Jetsons-esque utopia. All cars have a "Smart Car" built towards them if the "Smart Car" was compressed and made leaner (they look like a twenty-five mile-an-hour wind can blow them over), digital media is taking over in places like libraries, phone calls are made through the TV in a Skype-like format, and the aforementioned domestic robot has become something of a standard. This is the second most favorable aspect to this film, next to the relationship Frank has with his robot. The world the film erects is pragmatic and easily-likable. It doesn't require the suspension of disbelief. It might have if this was made in the 1990's. Libraries going away? Yeah, right.

The film sweetly gives us a parable on how aging and caregiving may be changed in the next few years, with the influx of technology and the possibilities for in-home care with robots. As foreign as this sounds, it isn't far from likely. American citizens, especially the elderly, have had a terrifically tough time adapting to a world that is changing faster than many can keep up, and this film details that. We see Frank is more in-tuned with technology than many others his age, but he may be one of the lucky ones. If there's anything to take away from Robot and Frank, it's that there will be a frightening increase of new and a depressing decrease of old. Life as we know it may not be as simple as it once was - one of the downsides to technological advances.

Many of the film's ideas and actions, such as humanizing a burglar, constructing a believable world where robots have become dependable caregivers, and injecting a very small love story, all work with the gentle direction of Jake Schreier and the thoughtful, sympathetic writing by Christopher D. Ford. This is a premise that shouldn't work as well as it does, but there are many smart people in front of and behind the camera, assuring greatness with every shot. As it ended, I kind of wanted to see it again, which is a high compliment to pay to a movie.

Starring: Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Susan Sarandon, and Peter Sarsgaard. Directed by: Jake Schreier.