Robot & Frank , 2012.
Directed by Jake Schreier.
Starring Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden and Liv Tyler.
SYNOPSIS:
An ex-jewel thief is given a robot butler as a gift by his son and soon returns to his criminal ways as the two companions try their luck as a heist team.
A few months back I saw the trailer for Robot & Frank and felt that it gave away an awful lot of the film’s plot and conclusion. Comments on YouTube have included, “aren’t trailers meant to tease?” and “where are the end credits to this trailer?” The day before going to see the movie I watched the trailer again but stopped half way through for reasons already established. I liked the premise of the movie and didn’t want it ruined. Well if you’ve seen the trailer and had similar feelings to those I had, fear not – the trailer does not give away the narrative and, more importantly, it doesn’t do the film enough justice.
Robot & Frank is a wonderful, beautiful and excellent movie. It tells the tale of a retired cat burglar (not voiced by Sam Neill, but played by Frank Langella) who is struggling with memory loss and the life he is now leading. His son Hunter (James Marsden) tries to help him out, but with him being so far out of town he is missing time with his own family. To aid his father, he purchases a robot to help him out with his diet and memory – much to the dismay of Frank’s daughter Madison (Liv Tyler). While Frank doesn’t exactly warm to the robot at first, he soon realises he can use ‘him’ to get back into the burgling game.
While it may sound like a rather silly set up, the real crux of Robot & Frank’s story is the relationship blossoming between the two leads. From their first few one-sided confrontational moments, we watch as their friendship blossoms into a partnership and back to a friendship. Frank has spent his entire life working alone and even when he still had a wife and his kids were growing up, he spent 15 years of it in jail all alone. This is the first real friend he has ever had and Frank Langella shows this in one of his best performances on screen. I also really hope that Peter Sarsgaard gets the recognition he deserves for voicing the unnamed robot as his human-but-not-human delivery is the perfect counterpart to Langella’s deadpan tones.
Robot & Frank delves into the theory of just how genuine can artificial intelligence be. If a robot has no soul and no history, can it be defined as a living thing? Can you form a friendship with something that isn’t programmed to know what friendship is? This theme runs so steadily and subtly throughout the movie with perfect grace that it manages not to be overshadowed by more prominent and ‘true-to-life’ themes.
Visually, Robot & Frank is a stunning piece of work. First time director Schreier has crafted a realistic vision of the future where robots aren’t all fancy pieces of technology (a la I, Robot) but are in some ways quite clumsy – unless you want to pay top price for them. This level of detail adds a sense of realism to the movie that is missing in most science fiction films. Because the characters and setting are so believable, you get drawn into the movie more and more. Furthermore, because Robot & Frank deals with real-life themes such as Frank’s battle with Alzheimer’s, being an absent father and his son’s resentment, you almost forget you’re watching a fictional movie about a man committing burglaries with a robot.
It’s been a while since a movie has drawn me into its story quite like this. While it didn’t move me to tears, the films closing 15 minutes are heart-wrenchingly beautiful and so wonderfully played out. Robot & Frank is a fantastic movie and I can’t sing its praises enough. If you get a chance to see it, do so. All the performances are great, the direction is excellent, the soundtrack is perfect and the movie hits every nail on the head with precision. A must see.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is a freelance copywriter working for Europe’s biggest golf holiday provider as their web content executive.
Originally published October 12, 2012. Updated April 11, 2018.
