Bottom line: Robot & Frank is a great movie that takes the idea of disjoint elder and youth and gives it a modern twist. It is a funny movie and Langella's acting is spot on.
3.5/4
Robot & Frank is about, well, Frank. In his youth, he was a cat burglar. He planned the robberies of high-end jewels and things that would be paid for by the 'greedy insurance companies'. That is how the movie justifies the whole threat plot device (“It’s ok, because no one is paying for it per se). Now, Frank is older and going senile. He and his wife divorced thirty years before and he has been living alone ever since. His daughter, Madison (Tyler), calls from Turkmenistan whenever she has a break from her non-profit work. Frank's son, Hunter (Marsden), drives the ten hour trip every week to check on things. To ease the trouble for himself and his family, Hunter purchases a very expensive caretaker robot (Sarsgaard) to help Frank around the house. The robot is a sort of in house nurse but from the ‘near future’. Frank vehemently opposes the robot but, when he hears the alternative is a nursing home, accepts the appliance. Although Frank is slowing losing his mind, he holds onto his skills as a thief, regularly stealing from the bath shop and neighbors and practices picking locks. As soon as he learns that the robot doesn't incorporate the law into its programming (the robot inadvertently steals a bar of soap) Frank teaches the robot to be his accomplice: how to pick locks and crack safes. The work involved with planning a heist, be it an antique copy of Don Quixote (how symbolic of Frank's mental state) or millions of dollars in jewels, gives Frank much needed mental stimulation.
A big theme in Robot & Frank is about the relationship between youth and their elders. We have Madison, who is youthfully focused on her non-profit work abroad. This isn't to say she is bad or wrong for wanting to help. She loves her father. She regularly calls and even offers to stay as long as he needs. She just has her own life which can over shadow the needs of her father. Her dogmatic belief against "robot slavery", for example, prevents her from seeing the positive effect the robot has on her father. Hunter acts similarly. It isn't that he doesn't care about his father (he does make the ten hour drive) but it comes across as a chore. Initially, I objected to how the son and daughter were characterized as children. But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was a relatively realistic scenario. By the end of the movie, the family is brought together in order to care for Frank. They have lunch together and go for a walk. They all laugh and talk but the experience isn’t without a fair share of annoyance. These highs and lows mirror the sense of humor. But, first, let me talk about the young yuppie Jake (Jeremy Strong).
He is the closest thing we have to a villain and he is almost painful to watch. He is so clearly a child and, as such, he becomes a lame comic relief: he whines, he plays with toys and, as his wealth comes from his attorney wife, he doesn't really work. Alright, sure, he is a "consultant...whatever that means". In one scene, he brings the sheriff to Frank's house to accuse him of theft. The low-angle shot physically places him in the position of a spoiled brat complaining to an adult. As if it wasn't obvious enough, his wife even calls him a baby.
Anyway, I mentioned the high and lows. That is, one minute we are laughing, then next we are sad. That is a big part of the movie and a make a great experience. In order to stop people from toying with the robot, Frank tells the robot to say "Self-destruct sequence initiated..." and count down from 10. At one point, police and Jake are trying to access the robot's memory so it says the line he was taught. Everyone but Hunter runs out of the house. He calmly sits on the steps near the robot. When the countdown ends, he bitterly says "He is just lying like he always does." I am so used to the scenario where the countdown ends, the characters look out from behind their hiding spot and then scene ends. To end it with an angry sentiment is really refreshing. It doesn’t spoil the humor it actually makes the experience deeper. Robot & Frank feels more worthwhile than something that just makes you laugh.
3.5/4
Robot & Frank is about, well, Frank. In his youth, he was a cat burglar. He planned the robberies of high-end jewels and things that would be paid for by the 'greedy insurance companies'. That is how the movie justifies the whole threat plot device (“It’s ok, because no one is paying for it per se). Now, Frank is older and going senile. He and his wife divorced thirty years before and he has been living alone ever since. His daughter, Madison (Tyler), calls from Turkmenistan whenever she has a break from her non-profit work. Frank's son, Hunter (Marsden), drives the ten hour trip every week to check on things. To ease the trouble for himself and his family, Hunter purchases a very expensive caretaker robot (Sarsgaard) to help Frank around the house. The robot is a sort of in house nurse but from the ‘near future’. Frank vehemently opposes the robot but, when he hears the alternative is a nursing home, accepts the appliance. Although Frank is slowing losing his mind, he holds onto his skills as a thief, regularly stealing from the bath shop and neighbors and practices picking locks. As soon as he learns that the robot doesn't incorporate the law into its programming (the robot inadvertently steals a bar of soap) Frank teaches the robot to be his accomplice: how to pick locks and crack safes. The work involved with planning a heist, be it an antique copy of Don Quixote (how symbolic of Frank's mental state) or millions of dollars in jewels, gives Frank much needed mental stimulation.
A big theme in Robot & Frank is about the relationship between youth and their elders. We have Madison, who is youthfully focused on her non-profit work abroad. This isn't to say she is bad or wrong for wanting to help. She loves her father. She regularly calls and even offers to stay as long as he needs. She just has her own life which can over shadow the needs of her father. Her dogmatic belief against "robot slavery", for example, prevents her from seeing the positive effect the robot has on her father. Hunter acts similarly. It isn't that he doesn't care about his father (he does make the ten hour drive) but it comes across as a chore. Initially, I objected to how the son and daughter were characterized as children. But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was a relatively realistic scenario. By the end of the movie, the family is brought together in order to care for Frank. They have lunch together and go for a walk. They all laugh and talk but the experience isn’t without a fair share of annoyance. These highs and lows mirror the sense of humor. But, first, let me talk about the young yuppie Jake (Jeremy Strong).
He is the closest thing we have to a villain and he is almost painful to watch. He is so clearly a child and, as such, he becomes a lame comic relief: he whines, he plays with toys and, as his wealth comes from his attorney wife, he doesn't really work. Alright, sure, he is a "consultant...whatever that means". In one scene, he brings the sheriff to Frank's house to accuse him of theft. The low-angle shot physically places him in the position of a spoiled brat complaining to an adult. As if it wasn't obvious enough, his wife even calls him a baby.
Anyway, I mentioned the high and lows. That is, one minute we are laughing, then next we are sad. That is a big part of the movie and a make a great experience. In order to stop people from toying with the robot, Frank tells the robot to say "Self-destruct sequence initiated..." and count down from 10. At one point, police and Jake are trying to access the robot's memory so it says the line he was taught. Everyone but Hunter runs out of the house. He calmly sits on the steps near the robot. When the countdown ends, he bitterly says "He is just lying like he always does." I am so used to the scenario where the countdown ends, the characters look out from behind their hiding spot and then scene ends. To end it with an angry sentiment is really refreshing. It doesn’t spoil the humor it actually makes the experience deeper. Robot & Frank feels more worthwhile than something that just makes you laugh.
Directed by Jake Schreier. Written by Christopher D. Ford. Starring
Peter Sarsgaard (Robot), Frank Langella (Frank), Susan Sarandon
(Jennifer), Liv Tyler (Madison), James Marsden (Hunter)
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