Netflix content reviewed in 150 words. Or thereabouts.
Robot & Frank (2012)
Dir: Jake Schreir
89 minutes
A gentle,
shuffle-paced drama, light on incident but heavy on the heartstrings, Robot and
Frank is a sweet-natured take on ageing, family, and companionship. Tonally,
it's an episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror strained through a nice
filter, which envisions a near and semi-plausible future where it’s entirely
possible to give your irascible father a robot butler to assist his medical
needs.
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| Robot and Frank |
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| Frank and Robot |
Despite his
belligerence, Frank Langella’s eponymous retired cat burglar is a sympathetic
lead: a curmudgeonly frustration borne from the bewilderment of modernity and
memory failure. The film narrowly but brilliantly avoids the clichéd pitfall of
giving his ‘bot buddy human qualities – Frank’s friendship is one carved
entirely from his own actions, forcing him to face up to both his own behaviour
and mortality.
Despite the haunted grit in the ingredients list there is,
at core, an unapologetic soft centre, blended skillfully by first time director Jake Schreier. Recommended.
7/10
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