People keep going on and on about how Hollywood has run out of ideas, but come on, people, the film industry's indie circuit isn't all that terribly creative, or at least when it comes to titles, because as unique as this film's plot is, the title can either be the… More
People keep going on and on about how Hollywood has run out of ideas, but come on, people, the film industry's indie circuit isn't all that terribly creative, or at least when it comes to titles, because as unique as this film's plot is, the title can either be the product of laziness or the strangest romantic comedy since... well, whichever romantic comedy came out before it. Granted, I don't know what they could have called this film, because how they couldn't have at least pulled a cute little cliched twist on the final title and made it "Frank 'n' Bot" without people expecting this film to be about a robot Frankenstein, and one played by Dracula no less, seeing as how, at this point, Frank Langella does indeed look like the composition of dead boy parts. Okay, maybe Langella doesn't quite look that horrible, but he's certainly ugly enough to be believable as Liv Tyler's father (Liv Tyler's beautiful lips just do not fit on men), because as Mr. Steven Tyler will tell you, freaky-looking dudes can still have pretty babies, or at least that's the case if they have good-looking baby mamas, something that Frank Langella's... Frank character (Like I said, not much creativity when it comes to naming) must not have too much taste in, seeing as how he's pursuing Susan Sarandon. No, no, people, I'm joking, Sarandon was a good-looking woman, it's just that she is hardly aging gracefully, and yet, that hasn't stopped people from making her the crush role in plenty of 2012 film, such as this film, "Jeff, Who Lives at Home", "Cloud Atlas" and, shoot, even "That's My Boy". Hey, at least it's not a big a shock as seeing Jeremy Sisto in this film for, like, a few scenes, which is still long enough to show that he can, in fact, break out of the dreaded prison that is TV World (What an amazing coincidence that the show he's got going on right now just happens to be titled "Suburgatory"), though only for near-forgettable supporting appearances in indie films that no one is going to see. Man, fan-blown-haired Jesus just cannot catch a break, which is a shame, partially because it means that this film is hardly going to get the attention that it deserves from the folks who go see Hollywood films that aren't just unimaginative with their titles, or at least that's what most people who have actually seen this film are saying. Don't get me wrong, the film is entertaining and all, even with its lame title, but it is most definately not without its flaws.
The film is more consistent in entertainment value than I expected, but make no mistake, as enjoyable as this film quite often is, it remains an indie effort with only so much in the way of commerical color, and a director with only so much experience, so it's only a matter of time before atmosphere dies down in kick and dries up a bit, leaving momentum to slow down and the film to, not necessarily slip into dullness, but bland up a bit. Of course, it's not like the film's actual story concept has all that much kick to begin with, for although slow spells certainly don't help the degree of meat to this film, unique and colorful touches to this story can do only so much to obscure the fact that plot was never to be too meaty, as this film flaunts a thin premise that opens very few doors for all that much depth and engagement value, which of course still doesn't entirely give slowness an excuse for further slowing down plotting's already pretty limited momentum. Still, it's not like director Jake Schreier's sometimes too steady atmosphere is soley to blame for augmenting blandness that was firmly established as far back as this film's concept stages, as screenwriter Christopher D. Ford turns in quite a bit of fat around this do-little plot's edges that pad out a film that is still short enough for you to really sense just how limited this film's actual plot points are. Still, if Ford does nothing else to obscure story structure, then it is, well, obscuring story structure, in that he takes a story concept that is thin, yet could still very easily be comfortably broken down into a tradition three-act structure, and structures plotting execution in a fashion that, alongside Jake Schreier's thin atmosphere, retards rising and falling action, and leaves the final product's storytelling to flow along without all that much real direction. This thinning of story structure drains conflicts' sense of consequence and, by extension, impacting compellingness, and leaves a film that is conceptually layered in its plotting to feel aimless in its meanderings. There's not too much to complain about when it comes to the film, but that's mainly because there's only so much actually to the film to begin with, leaving every misstep to hit a little bit harder, and whether it be a thin atmosphere or a thin story structure, a problem can be found often enough to emphasize just how lacking this film is, even in concept, until what you're ultimately left with is an almost naturally underwhelming final product. Still, even with all of its shortcomings, this film is as consistently enjoyable as it is consistently flawed, having enough color to it to charm thoroughly, or at least enough uniqueness to be reasonably memorable.
I'm not saying that I wish this film's story concept had a whole lot more meat to it, as I can't really see this film's subject matter ever going too considerably, but this film's concept structure stands to establish a bit more room for depth, or at least intrigue, which is still hardly all that terribly lacking in this film's final premise, being brought to life partially by quite a few unique touches, because even though this film isn't quite one of the most original of the sci-fi genre in recent, genuinely refreshing and neat ideas are explored in this film's concept, and further explored, to a certain degree, in the concept's script execution. Christopher D. Ford's screenplay is quite flawed, with padding and thin story structuring that leave a potentially adequately layered film to aimlessly meander in too many spots, yet for every misstep in Ford's writing, there is a strength that refreshes your investment in things, including Ford's presentation of this film's world, which claims to be due in the near future, and sells you on such a proposal by being cleverly restrained in its flaunting of the components of a future world, which are still emphasized enough to feel distinguished as unique and buyable pieces to a possible future. Chris Ford crafts a world that is a bit too restrainted to be all that much fun, but nevertheless rather fascinatingly believable, as well as supplementary to this film's conceptual uniqueness, and when it comes to the story within this world, like I said, Ford could have handled things better, though it's not like Ford's story structure is wholey faulty, as Ford, at the very least, delivers on reasonably colorful characterization that may not give story and characters quite as much flesh-out as there should be, but still paint genuine figures upon the canvas that is this film's film's depth, which is limited, but explored with enough exposition by Ford's writing for you to get a decent grip on things. Such a grip goes tightened, at least about as much as it can, by Jake Schreier's direction, which is about as, if not more problematic than Ford's writing, being atmospherically thin, yet not so much so that Schreier doesn't grace the film with some reasonable degree of color, which powers the fim with a lot of charm that keeps things going, until paying off by the final act, which delivers a strong twist, followed by a moving ending. Moments such as the final act don't do too much more than offer glimpses at what could have been, yet there are particularly strong moments in Schreier's direction, and almost all of them break up consistent entertainment value, which isn't so consistent that slow are entirely done away with, but still rich enough to add to the final product's charm, which recieves further compliment from, of course, our leads. It's strange to commend Peter Sarsgaard for his voice-only performance as a robot, but really, I've got to give it up to Sarsgaard for retaining his usual charisma, married with smooth dialogue delivery, to sell you on the almost human sophistication behind the machinery he portrays, but no oversell, while Frank Langella delivers his own charm as the cold old man who finally finds connection as new troubles rise to provide Langella with the occasional piece of material for emotional range that is, of course, delivered. Our two leads charm by their own individual rights and intensify such charm with fine chemistry that essentially carries this film, but not alone, because as flawed as this film is, there are still enough unique and colorful touches for you to be, if nothing else, quite entertained and charmed, even if you'll still end up asking for more.
In conclusion, slow spells augment blandness that is established by considerable plot thinness, emphasized enough by padding and aimlessly thin story structuring to render the final product quite decidedly underwhelming, though not so much so that you can't appreciate this film's liveliness, of which, there is a fair bit, sparked by buyable and unique touches to a story concept that goes executed in Christopher D. Ford's script with colorful characterization, brought to life by Jake Schreier's direction, which meets every misstep with entertaining charm, intensified by the charismatic performances and chemistry between leads Frank Langella and Peter Sarsgaard that make "Robot & Frank" an adequately entertaining charmer of a mostly naturally flawed opus.
2.5/5 - Fair
