When you think of Michael Fassbender, you typically think of Magneto, David from PROMETHEUS, or the powerhouse turns he had in Steve McQueen‘s SHAME and 12 YEARS A SLAVE. You think about an actor so damn impressive that there is no doubt he will someday win an Oscar. But, Michael Fassbender will also be known this year as the guy in that crazy movie about the musician in the big papier mache head. Yeah, that is FRANK.
We have seen some images and brief clips from FRANK back when it premiered at Sundance, but now we have the full domestic trailer that is, well, a little odd. But, with a great cast featuring Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Domhnall Gleeson, and Scoot McNairy, FRANK is just the kind of indie movie that could explode in popularity.
Acclaimed Irish director Lenny Abrahamson follows up his award-winning films Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did with an offbeat comedy about a young wannabe musician, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), who finds himself out of his depth when he joins an avant-garde pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender), a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head, and his terrifying bandmate Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
Loosely inspired by real-life musician Frank Sidebottom (aka Chris Sievey), FRANK reminds me of another movie that I can’t quite put my finger on. Fans can easily tell that Fassbender is under that mask but he does a damn good job of hiding underneath the character. Hopefully the full movie is as good as this trailer.