Blu-Ray Frank

Arriving on DVD and blu-ray is the dark comedy Frank. Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) is a wannabe musician, who stumbles upon a band called “Soronprfbs,” who are trying to stop their keyboardist from drowning himself in the ocean.  Needing an extra man for their performance that night, the band’s manager Don (Scoot McNairy) asks Jon if he can play keyboards at the show.  It is at the concert where Jon finds out that the Soronprfbs is lead by a man named Frank (Michael Fassbender), who inexplicably wears a giant papier-mâché doll’s head.

Film in Brief

On its surface, Frank seems to be a quirky and fun musical comedy about an eccentric guy, who wears a giant head.  For much of the film, nobody really questions why Frank is wearing a papier-mâché mask and the audience is left to laugh at his odd behaviours and ticks.  Without saying too much, the film takes a bit more of a dark and serious turn in the third act, which may cause the audience to question whether laughing at Frank’s behaviours was the right thing to do.  While the change of tone in the third act might turn off some viewers, I still have have to say that I thought that the film ended on a major high note, with a powerful performance by the band. Altogether, Frank was a quirky musical dramedy, with a great performance by (a mostly masked) Michael Fassbender.

Disc Features and Extras

The blu-ray release for Frank has nearly an hour’s worth of special features.  The best of these features is an Interview with Director Lenny Abrahamson (19:22), which goes quite in-depth into the inspirations behind the film and various behind the scenes info.  The disc also has a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes that cover different aspects of the film.  Behind the Sounds (10:19) stands out as both the longest featurette on the disc, as well as the only one presented in high definition, with the three additional featurettes – Behind the Mask (2:10), Meet the Band (4:42), and What’s the Name of the Band (3:08) – all being presented in standard def.  Another feature entitled AXS TV: A Look at Frank (2:44) is the weakest of the offerings, since it is really only the trailer of the film with interview clips edited through it, some of which are seen in the other featurettes. The Frank blu-ray also features the film’s trailer, a commentary track with director Lenny Abrahamson, Actor Domhnall Gleeson, and Composer Stephen Rennicks, and the deleted scenes Psychosis (0:36), Ayahuasca (4:13), and Creaky Door (6:27).  While the first two deleted scenes are little more than curiosities, the third is quite excellent, since it features a full six minute plus  performance by the Soronprfbs.  Due to its length, it’s understandable why the scene was removed from the film, though it ends up being a great edition to the disc.

Summary

For a quirky independent film, the blu-ray for Frank is a pretty decent release.  While some of the special features are better than others, there is still a pretty good amount of behind-the-scenes footage on the disc.  Frank on blu-ray is definitely recommended for people who enjoy the film. Film Rating: 8 | LIKED IT
Disc Rating: 8 | LIKED IT