Highly-rated at Sundance, musical comedy ‘Frank’ released in the US

Highly-rated at Sundance, musical comedy ‘Frank’ released in the US

NEW DELHI: Lenny Abrahamson’s film ‘Frank’, which got rave reviews at the premiere at Sundance, was released in the United States this week.

 

The film is about a man named Jon (Domhall Gleeson) who joins the eccentric band ‘Soronprfbs’ led by Frank (Michael Fassbender).

 

Talking about the movie, Abrahamson said, “I think there are many hooks to the film. The first one is that it is a film with Michael Fassbender wearing a fake head, which is something that is worth talking about and it has been an endless fascination for journalists.”

 

“The music is another thing that people hold onto,” Abrahamson continued. “The film has also got loads to say about social media, and that is another thing people are really interested in at the moment.”  

 

“’Frank’ is a film which is full of music and is about music. There is an inventive band in the film, so when you invent the band you have to invent their sound and their music, and it so rarely works in films when there is a fictional performer or a fictional musician or band, because they usually sound like they are just doing knock-off songs,” Abrahamson added.

 

The feature is an Element Pictures/Runaway Fridge production for Film4, BFI, Protagonist Pictures and the Irish Film Board. It stars Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Abrahamson previously helmed ‘Adam & Paul’, ‘Garage’ and ‘What Richard Did’, all IFTA winners.

 

Besides the US market, the comedy has also sold to Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Italy, Scandinavia, Benelux, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Middle East and Singapore.

 

The screenplay for ‘Frank’ was written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan, with music by Stephen Rennicks. The film was produced by Ed Guiney, David Barron and Stevie Lee, with executive producers Tessa Ross, Katherine Butler, Andrew Lowe and Nigel Williams. Film4, the BFI and the Irish Film Board provided funds.