Customer Reviews

Franklyn [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What a wonderfully original and unique viewing experience! Not only was Franklyn visually stunning but it was quite thought-provoking as well. After kicking back to watch the film, the wife and I chattered on about it for another good hour trying to sort through what we'd seen. And who we felt the characters represented.

If you're wondering what Franklyn is, a drama or fantasy, well its pretty much both in equal parts. It moves back and forth between Meanwhile City and modern-day London. Admittedly the London sequences, for me anyhow, really seemed to drag on as not one single character was remotely warm or likable. After each Meanwhile City segment ended, I found myself impatiently waiting for the next visit back to check on the progress of the faceless Preest, the hilarious religions and the amazing steampunk environment. Thankfully both London and Meanwhile City do end up converging but that's inevitable, the real question the film leaves you with is whether Meanwhile City was real and who brought the worlds, and characters, together.

Visually, this blew my mind. It was a little Blade Runner, The Crow, From Hell and The City of Lost Children, in other words it was absolutely beautiful; I can't even begin to imagine what writer/director McMorrow could do with a bigger budget. It's a shame none of the characters really popped but I found it still riveting how their lives all slowly began crossing paths from the first few minutes of the film down to the last. This was definitely weaved together with careful thought; let's just hope next time around McMorrow gives his characters a bit more soul.

One of those films where even as the credits roll, you almost want to say WTF just happened mixed with knowing you just watched a great little movie.

Story descriptions that I have read here and elsewhere can confuse more often than help, but a quick summary could include two "parallel" worlds in London converging over the course of the story, culminating in a final climactic event that ties all of the stories (real and imagined) together. Meanwhile, the visuals and sounds are conveyed eloquently and with outstanding Blu clarity. The picture is tested in every single Meanwhile City panoramic, and each time I would pause it to look for flaws and holes - but couldn't really find any. There are very few scenes with bright colors, but when they show up the saturation/contrast is just right. The DTS was ideal. Reference the scene with Ryan's character surrounding the snake guy, or any of the off-camera sounds being moved around the channels perfectly (answering machine shots, hospital sounds, etc.) Phillippe's voice does not the have the ideal inflections for a film-length narration, but you get through it because it is usually over the fantasy world sequences where you might spend more time looking at all they are putting before you.

The supplements include:

* A brief ad-plug style making of that should definitely be watched after the movie (gives away all of the twists).
* Interviews. They all last 32 minutes total, and can be watched individually or as a play all. Main cast and crew are dryly interviewed on set, but they give some vital info on the inspiration, logistics and (appropriately) some of the confusion people have in trying to describe everything that is Franklyn.
* Deleted scenes. Less than 10 minutes but I enjoyed seeing more of the red haired lady and her wonderful role.

A very obscure and darkly anti-religious/faith film, but worth the watch if you would like a mix of Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] meets a masked man noir narrative. Blu quality is superb - not the best I have seen but great overall for what this was.

Once in a blue moon, a film comes along that defies genre identification ...and so goes FRANKLYN, a movie that transcends anything you think you've ever seen. A hybrid in terms of style, Franklyn might best be described as Frank Miller (the artist) meets The Dark Knight (Batman) in Brazil (the movie). I say this because none of these items alone help explain the convoluted-ness that is this story, and none should. It goes beyond them. Way beyond them.

Visually appealing on almost every level, Franklyn has two divergent stories that seem to have nothing to do with each other. In one we're privy to a kind of superhero trying to avenge the death of a young girl whom we know nothing about. He chases after "The Individual" in a city known as Meanwhile. Looking, as stated earlier, somewhere along the lines of a Frank Miller graphic mixed with a kind of Dark Knight quality, the story intrigues and makes us cheer on the main character, Jonathan Preest (Ryan Philleppe, Flags of Our Fathers). I mean, trying to avenge the death of an innocent girl is noble, right? Equally intriguing within the city of Meanwhile are the many religions that flourish, including the Seventh Day Manicurists. Everyone is required to have a religious affiliation ...except our "hero" who is subsequently tracked by highly skilled fighting monks.

In the second story, a woman named Emilia (Eva Green, The Golden Compass) tries to come to terms with her life and her art. She consistently tries to kill herself for the sake of it only to learn that her art just isn't inspiring enough. Also, a man in search of his missing son comes to the psychiatrist who'd been treating him only to learn that his son escaped and is out in the world with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

As the two storylines begin to mesh, reality skews, men and women we thought we knew either don't exist, exist as something else, or are strictly symbols (including a janitor who plays a vital role). The fascination the viewer will feel at the realizations of what is coming will shock, delight and sink their heart. Yes, it's THAT good.

The visuals are what will initially draw you in. You'll be asking yourself "Why?" many times: Why is the city so muted? Why is he wearing a mask? Why are these religious fanatics chasing him? If you pay close attention, everything is answered in one final scene which, in itself, reveals amazing storytelling.

I can't stress enough how closely everything is linked in the film and how paying attention reaps great benefits in the end. Even the names of the characters (Preest, The Individual, Wormsnakes, Pastor Bone) all have relevance.

Made on a paltry $12 million budget, the movie feels much more expensive and expansive. Sadly, it did not get a wide release and suffered because of it. Not many people have ever heard of it. I know I never had until a friend I work with mentioned it. But I'm glad he pointed me in the right direction. This one's a hidden gem. And it's so original that you'll wonder which genre you're watching. I'm still wondering!

The cover art of this DVD would suggest an action-adventure movie starring a curiously depressed, masked detective/superhero and his two friends, but it is quite a misleading illustration.

"Franklyn" is an ambitious, intelligent parable about alienation in the modern world involving three disparate characters living in contemporary London:
Emilia (Eva Green) a suicidal artist,
Milo (Sam Riley) a melancholy young man who has apparently been recently jilted and who would like to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, and
Esser (Bernard hill) a father searching for his lost son

The figure on is cover is named Jonathan Preest (not Franklyn), and yes, he is a masked detective, of sorts, but he is out for vengeance, not justice. He seeks to kill the man responsible for the death of his young client, apparently many years ago. He wanders through a fantastic place known as Meanwhile City, where all of the inhabitants are religious; in fact, they must, by law, have a religion. Jonathan Preest is, of course, an atheist and therefore, alienated.
Meanwhile City, like the universes of "Blade Runner" and "Dark City" is a beautiful, fascinating place in its own right, and Preest (as portrayed by Ryan Phillippe) is a compelling protagonist. He reminds me of Rorschach set loose in a landscape created by Neil Gaiman ("Neverland"). So if you didn't get enough of Jackie Earl Haley's Rorschach in "Watchmen," then this movie is for you, and you need not read any further. Otherwise read on.

So what does Preest have to do with the other three? Well, they are all alienated, too!
By the end of this movie, all of the threads of the story line will become entwined in a serendipitous manner which will hopefully provoke in the viewer questions like: What is reality? What is fantasy? and What makes life worth living?

This is not a fist-in-the-air feel-good summer blockbuster. It is the kind of movie perfect for a drizzly autumnal afternoon or a cozy winter night. It is best viewed alone, with a loved one, or at most, a very small group of intimate friends, preferably ones who don't take religion too seriously. A glass of wine or sherry before viewing helps a lot to set the proper reflective mood.

But beware! This movie is confusing at first, as the director has decided to withhold huge amounts of information so that there can be a big "reveal" at the end which makes it seem more profound than it really is. Repeated viewings are advised so that you can backtrack and ask yourself: Gee, how did I miss that?

At first, the theme which is not immediately evident, is that the universe is not random. God does NOT play dice with the universe, but it is not ruled by a caring god capable of intervening in our lives, but by an exquisite clockwork which determines our individual fates. If an event as insignificant as a single drop of rain leaking into a doorbell, producing a short, can have profound implications, then what effect must a suicide or the death of a child, have on the future, not only on the people that person knew, but also those persons the departed have yet to meet.
(I'm really dancing around any specifics of the plot because I don't want to spoil it for you.)

So why didn't I give this movie more stars? Because Franklyn is relatively devoid of any feeling. It is manipulative, where it should be moving, and the characters are essentially hollow. We plop down into their (somewhat weird) lives with no notion of who they are or how to identify with them, and therefore feel nothing for any of them, even at the movie's dramatic conclusion.

In order to either love or hate a character, you must first identify with that character, and filmmakers today don't seem to know how to make an audience do that. Even the most cheesy Joan Crawford movie of the 30's had no problems in this area, but today we must settle for clever scripts, nice costumes, and fantastic art direction in place of pathos.

Nevertheless, it is nice to slip off into a pretty, kinky, violent fantasy once in a while, especially if it involves London, and this movie offers all that and more. Purchase it, rent it, or borrow it, and be enlightened.

This one was a bit of a surprise for me. I decided to see this movie on dvd based on its cover art and the actors who were in it, which is a terrible way of choosing a movie to see. But this turned out to be a really great, and enjoyable film, excellently crafted and executed from start to finish. The story of the film follows four different characters and their intertwining paths, Milo the emotionally shattered lover, Emilia who is turning her self destruction into an art form, and the middle aged Peter who is looking for his estranged son. All of these previous characters stories take place in a modern day London, the fourth one, Jonathan Preest, takes place in the surreal Meanwhile City. Preest is a vigilante/criminal in a city of absurd faiths and is haunted by his failure to protect a young a girl.

Its an all around solid movie, with great acting performances, interesting characters, a good story that does a good job of contrasting the Dark Fantasy elements with a cold hard reality, good costumes, sets, etc. Another thing I liked about this movie was that it borrows some themes from Terry Gilliam's work in the 80s with the power of imagination, fantasy, and escapism but it still cutting its own way with the main focus on the sadness and personal misery that ultimately leads these characters to cross paths with each other in one form or another. Its not a happy movie, but not as depressing as I might be making it out to be. Its certainly entertaining, interesting, and visually put together serenely. Highly recommended.

Based on the trailer you might be expecting a lot of action, a brilliant vigilante movie taking place between altering universes, and a unique twist like that of Dark City. But alas it doesn't live up to what you, a viewer, might expect based on the trailer.

Instead you get a drama with an unsatisfying twist you might or might not see coming. Personally, I saw the twist, but was hoping the twist that was there wouldn't be the twist.

I still enjoyed the film, it had some really nice cinematography, and very good acting, but it left me wanting for something more. I wanted it to be a scifi superhero film, and it did have a fair amount of action, the movie just wasn't executed the way I wanted it to be.

I know it sounds like I didn't really like the film, but I did. What it lacked for at the end it made up for with good dialogue, a fantastic score, some amazing shots, and really nice visual effects. I have a feeling this will become a cult classic, in the way that Donnie Darko did. Perhaps it will be the reverse of what happened with Donnie Darko, instead of this movie doing incredibly well in England, it will do incredibly well here.

I'll admit that I forgot to mention there was one twist that was rather unexpected, but I'll share that in the comments section.

edit: upon a few watches the movie gets better imo because the score really lifts up and really adds to the beauty.

Each of the four stories that unfold and then converge in this film would have made, on their own, fine films: a desperate father trying to blindly rescue his deranged son, a depressed girl attempting anything to get her aloof mother's attention, even suicide who ironically fights to live in the movies climax, a sad-sack romantic jilted at the alter finding comfort in a childhood fantasy, a sci-fi superhero hunting down the killer of a little girl in a twisted and dark city of the future. It is the blending of the stories that leaves many viewers unimpressed. Those looking for a sci-fi thriller will be a bit disappointed by the measured pace of the present-day London scenes. Viewers expecting a psychological character study will be put off by the violence of the Meanwhile City sequences. Those looking for simple, easy to follow story telling will be totally befuddled (like many of the posters here on Amazon). There is also a strong anti-religious undertone to the entire affair that might put-off some viewers.

However, if you are a fan of good movie making, outstanding acting (especially Bernard Hill as the desperate but bumbling father), and clever story-telling, then you should enjoy this film. Maybe it's not visionary or ground-breaking and some may think its derivative, but in the end, I found it to be very entertaining and eminently satisfying. And any film with the incomparable Eva Green is definitely worth watching.

Finally, fans of the sci-fi artist Brom will be delighted by the artistic similarity to his work in many of the customs and sets.

**No Spoilers** , just this: the cover art is deceiving. This is no fantasy world, time travel adventure/thriller. It deals with serious, mature topics in the present and real world. So those expecting an escapist "Dark City" et al. genre will be sorely disappointed.

The viewer is tossed right in the middle of four unrelated characters's lives each on the crest of life changing personal turmoil. Paced episodically, we have no history as to how the character reached that particular state in their life, but as the movie unfolds a workable sketch emerges just enough to satisfy our curiosity about that person's circumstance.

The fun in watching this movie- and the principal motivating factor to continue viewing- lies in figuring out how will all these unrelated plot lines ultimately be tied in and reconciled. In this regard Franklyn succeeds in delivering an unexpected twist, but does so awkwardly.

The main problem with this movie is that most of the characters are rather unsympathetic, superficial and self indulgent. It is difficult to form a bond with them or care much about their problems. The "fantasy future world" of religious dystopia offers the most satisfying experience, rich with atmosphere and some biting sarcasm. However, this "world" remains marginal to the overall theme.

Because of this tepid interest in the characters, even as the build up to some inevitable conclusion, it's more about detached curiosity of how the writers will reconcile the plot rather than sincere involvement with the movie itself. Some will call the inclusion of Meanwhile City a tease, but what it represents is really a pun. Pity the whole of the movie didn't take place there.

We will certainly be hearing from this writer/director again. His very first feature film demonstrates an impressive grasp of film narrative, photography, and editing - all accomplished with a dazzling visual flair. Four characters are presented to us in parallel stories of lost souls who are searching for someone or something, and these characters gradually begin to connect with each other in intriguing ways until the final climactic scene. For many viewers, including this one, the best of these stories is set in Meanwhile City, an alternate world inspired by the genre called "Steampunk" (perhaps best described as a sort of gritty hyper-real Victoriana), here superbly realized with an incredibly detailed production design. The director tells us in an interview (included in the extras) that those scenes were photographed with a different lens than the shots of contemporary London. A similar attention to detail is evident in every frame of this film.

The acting is excellent from all the principals and several minor characters as well. The music is also very good.

Frankly, and in so many ways, this brainy and courageous little film, made on a tiny budget and partially funded by the UK National Film Council, puts to shame most of the big Hollywood extravaganzas, and, on this Blu-ray disc, looks better than all of them.

Preest is an atheist vigilante hunting his nemesis through a futuristic dystopian city swept up in religious fervour; Milo, Emilia and Peter all exist in our world and are negotiating the travails of lost love, suicidal tendencies, and familial crisis on the streets of modern London. The lives of all four of these people are intrinsically entwined.

Gerald McMorrow's "Franklyn" is one of those films that seems doomed to labour in obscurity despite the fact that it is thematically, conceptually, and aesthetically streets ahead of most of the awful drek that are heralded as modern classics by today's lazy critics.

The work of Alan Moore is clearly an influence; as is that of Terry Gilliam (as well as "Dark City" and "Blade Runner").

But this film is its own unique universe; and a brilliant one at that.

Touching, subtle, labyrinthine and brilliantly executed and acted by an excellent cast, this is a stunning dark fantasy.