Abrahamson: Frank (2014)

Frank was loosely inspired by the life of Chris Sievey, a member of the 70s punk band The Freshies, who became famous from the 1980s onwards for his alternative persona Frank Sidebottom, as well as the giant prosthetic head that he wore whenever he was in public. Frank’s appearances were alternatively described as stand-up comedy, absurd theatre, circus entertainment and vaudeville, but Frank treats them, retrospectively, as a finely-pitched parody of the high-concept prog-rock affectation and ambition that was starting to lose its appeal by the late 80s and early 90s.  At its peak, that prog ambition envisaged composing, rehearsing and recording an album as a totalising act of transformation, culminating and crystallising in quasi-mystical live experiences. Some twenty years later, Frank asks how that process might look in the 10s, by way of Jon (Domnhall Gleason), an aspiring keyboard player who suddenly finds himself shacking up in a remote Irish cabin with the members of Soronprfbs, a neo-prog band headed by “Frank" (Michael Fassbender), Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Don (Scoot McNairy). Although the stage seems set for a prog road movie - destination: live performance - it quickly becomes clear that something has slackened since prog’s heyday, since for all that Soronprfbs experiment with noise manipulation, musical meditation and field recordings, they can never quite seem to set their concept free, or settle into a truly progressive momentum. In fact, it’s only Jon’s covert use of Twitter and YouTube to document their frustration that gets them a wider fanbase, and finally an invitation to SXSW, where the last act of the film takes place. Yet it’s at this very point that Abrahamson pulls back from social media, denuding the film to such an extent that you really feel as if you’ve missed out by not being at SXSW to see the film being debuted, or even shot, since it’s clear that Fassbender’s Frank-head attracted as much curiosity and attention as any of the musical acts. Filmed concerts often make you feel you’re missing out a bit, but Frank does more than that – it’s like a filmed preparation for a concert, a concert we never really get to see. On the one hand, that suggests live music is still involable, but it also can’t help but feel like an advertisement for SXSW as well. If it’s not quite product placement, it’s certainly process placement, a promise that SXSW can manage the prog process that aimed to transcend management in the first place. Perhaps that’s why the film seems to close off a second viewing, or multiple viewings, making you feel like the next logical step is to book tickets to SXSW, just in case Soronprfbs happen to turn up again next year, playing the songs we never get to see.