*****
DVD Release
In the near future retired
cat-burglar, Frank, is given a robot by his son to help him with his day to day
life. Although initially suspicious, Frank soon begins to form a relationship
with the robot and together they embark on a series of burglaries.
This is an incredibly gentle and
tender film that focuses on the relationship between Frank (Frank Langella) and
Robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard). There are no loud explosions, no scenes of
violence or sex, and yet it is a deeply affecting and philosophical film that
leaves the audience to ponder long after it has finished. Frank is presented
with Robot by his son (James Marsden) as his dementia is getting worse, and
memory becomes a key aspect of the film, asking whether memory makes someone
human. Several times throughout the film, Robot makes allusions to having his
memory wiped manually, something that Frank becomes more uncomfortable with as
his own memory deteriorates. The majority of the film is based around Frank and
Robot talking, either in the house or out on walks, which gives the viewer time
to see the relationship growing, but this only leaves us with another question:
can a human and a robot actually be ‘friends’ and have a relationship? There is
a particularly interesting scene wherein two robots try and have a conversation
at the request of Frank, but are unable to exchange more than a few words with
each other, which leads Frank to ask how the world will operate when there are
no humans left. Again, this is a question left unanswered, but it certainly
makes the viewer think.
Langella’s performance is
pitch-perfect – he never ‘overacts’ in the moments of confusion, but there is
still emotion to be found within his role. His role is generally quite
inexpressive at the beginning of the film, eventually growing into something
more emotional, but it remains wholly believable throughout. Marsden is excellent
as his son, Hunter, who obviously cares for his father but cannot help but feel
resentment and frustration at the years they lost whilst Frank was in prison.
Jeremy Strong makes an appearance as the odious and utterly dislikeable Jake, a
‘yuppie’ new to the area who is remodelling the library for the future. The
only misstep is the role of Frank’s daughter, Madison (Liv Tyler), who is
written as a typical liberal humanitarian, jetting off to places of extreme
poverty and who is ultimately against ‘robot labour’. There is even a sequence
in which she is showing Frank her photos from her travels, and makes the
comment that what she has seen was beautiful and painful at the same time.
Tyler does her best with this clichéd role, however, and this blip in the
writing does not affect the rest of the film.
The film is quite short and
certainly does not outstay its welcome, but I would’ve liked the final act to
have been more drawn out somehow. The ‘action’ of the film is over and done
with quite quickly, and I perhaps would have wanted more time with Frank and
Robot before the conclusion. The ending is deeply moving, and yet somehow
ambiguous: is having robotic assistance a good thing? And if so, how far do we
go with it? This is an excellent little film, which packs an emotional punch
and lingers in the mind long after the credits have finished.
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