bigbyrd-83966
f you're like me and base a lot off of previews then you'd know this looked great regardless of all the mixed reviews. I came to this late but everything about Robot & Frank is irresistible. It's a very different take on science fiction and robotics. I found it to be enjoyable from beginning to end. The chemistry between the old man and the robot was spot on. One of the highlights for me were the comedic scenes between Frank and the robot and I would recommend seeing this movie for those scenes. It made me believe that an automaton and a human being can be complicated friends. The robot serves as a reminder of the human condition and how we all grow old. Everybody needs a friend. The plot is simple, beautifully done and very moving. The cast are convincing with understated performances.Great movie, with a touching story.
Prismark10
Robot & Frank stars Frank Langella as a former burglar now living alone and suffering from Alzheimer. His son James Marsden makes regular long round trips to visit him. He buys him a robot to look after him and frankly so he can pop down less often.Frank is a bit of a rebel, he still does petty shoplifting and we also learn he did long stretches of a prison time. Still his resentment for the robot soon turns to affection when he realises that he can use the robot to plan his next big burglary job against a man who humiliated him.Frank has befriended a local librarian Susan Sarandon, who seems to be new to the town and seems to be attracted to Frank's rebellious streak. Frank's daughter Liv Tyler also pops down to see him but she resents the robot helper but that is because she spends so little time with Frank and feels guilty about it.The film is set in a near future setting with automation gathering pace. It is also a mini heist film as Frank comes alive planning the burglary job and figuring that his robot helper is invaluable.The film is also about memory, as Frank is invigorated, the Robot knows it has the incriminating evidence of the burglary on its hard drive as the cops close in.There is a twist in the film concerning Frank's relationship with Sarandon but I am not sure Alzheimer and it effects on long term memory works in the way it is depicted here.Robot & Frank is a small scale but charming film with a stellar performance from Langella. I have known for years his reputation as a Shakespearean stage actor but he has been rather wasted in celluloid. Here he gives a subtle performance and is matched by other actors as well as the robot.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I saw the DVD cover for this well rated film, it is completely obvious what the film is about, I was attracted to it by the leading actor, and I was certainly interested in what the story would be. Basically set in the the near future, ageing ex-convict and thief Frank Weld (Frank Langella) lives alone and experiences increasingly serious mental deterioration and dementia. Frank's son Hunter (James Marsden), who has his own family and works as an attorney, is tired of visiting his father's home, but is reluctant to put him in full- time care, so he buys a robot companion (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), programmed to provide Frank with therapeutic care, including a good diet, a daily routine and activities to improve creativity and memory. At first Frank is wary of the presence of the robot, but he slowly warms to his new companion when he learns the robot is not programmed to distinguish between legal recreational activities and criminal acts, and it can assist him picking locks. Frank wants to win the affections of local librarian Jennifer (Susan Sarandon), the library is being renovated and turned into a community center, as interest in print media in declining, so he and the robot commit a heist, stealing an antique copy of Don Quixote from the library. Frank's daughter Madison (Liv Tyler), who is in Turkmenistan on a philanthropic trip, she learns of the robot and returns home to convince her father to get rid of it, on ethical objections, Frank insists he wants to keep the machine, for both help and as a friend. Frank and the robot commit one last heist, stealing jewels from rich young developer Jake (Jeremy Strong), who is heading the library renovation project. The police investigate the robbery and question and monitor Frank, he maintains his innocence, so that Hunter will return he pretends his illness is becoming deadly, and to cover his tracks Frank has the decision whether to wipe the memory of his robot, even as his own memory deteriorates rapidly. Frank goes to see Jennifer at the library, he discovers from photographs that she is in fact his wife, he had forgotten. Frank then returns home and the robot convinces him to wipe its holographic memory, arguing that it is not person and his sole reason for existence is to help Frank, it wants to help him to avoid jail, he reluctantly does so. Frank is taken to the "Brain Center", where he receives help in coping with his dementia, the jewels are not recovered by the police, Frank implies to Hunter in a note that they are hidden under tomato plants in his garden, that the robot made. Also starring Jeremy Sisto as Sheriff Rowlings, Bonnie Bentley as Ava and Rachael Ma as Robot (body). Langella gives a most impressive performance as the cranky elderly retired cat burglar whose memory is fading, Sarsgaard is a good choice as the voice of the kindly machine, and there is good support from Sarandon and the other players. This is a very simple story, an old thief using a machine that knows the definition of stealing, but does not understand it when doing it, this works well as a character study, and splendidly mixes the right amount of laughs but also the poignant and heartfelt emotion, overall it is a most satisfying science-fiction comedy drama. Very good!
room102
In the near future, an aging thief with memory problems (Frank Langella) gets a robot assistant.Nice little movie, reminds me a little of the interaction between the man and the robot in "Moon".The robot's design is a bit distracting at first since it's pretty obvious that it's a (wo)man in a suit, which makes it pretty hard to suspend the disbelief. Still, it's a OK movie.Excellent score by Francis and the Lights. Good performance by Langella. Good voice acting by Peter Sarsgaard.The script could have been more interesting.
