18/12/2012.
Now … I’m going to confess, I’ve seen some strange things in my time.
Some of Grub’s hairdo’s spring to mind, for starters.
Which were on a par with some of mine, frankly … !
And, being honest … ?
I think those assorted haircuts weren’t quite as strange as some of the films I’ve seen.
And I think I’ve seen one that’s … well … odd …
But in an interesting way.
The film in question is the 2008 Franklyn.
And if everything I’ve learnt over the years is accurate, it’s a VERY interesting take on madness.
~≈Â≈~
19/12/2012.
Written and directed by (then) newcomer, Gerald McMorrow, Franklyn follows the stories of three people in contemporary London: Emilia, a troubled art-student played by Eva Green*, Milo — Sam Riley — who’s just been dumped, and Peter, a Cambridge church-warden searching for his missing son, David.
There’s a fourth person. The masked vigilanté, John Preest, a man who’s hunting for someone he calls ‘… the Individual’, all over his home town, the parallel world of Meanwhile City.
All that … After being unable to save a girl called Sarah: who’s life he couldn’t save and who’s death he blames on the Individual.
These disparate characters are linked.
Milo was due to marry at the church where Peter is warden, and is being stalked by Emilia, for a project and John … is actually Peter’s troubled ex-soldier son, David, dipping into PTSD and apparent schizophrenia, with Meanwhile City — and his masked hunt for his father — being the view his madness gives him of London.
~≈Â≈~
Now …
Where does one put this puzzling little gem of a film … ?
To be perfectly frank, I really couldn’t tell you: I’m fairly sure that the actors could have been a touch stronger, the plotting a touch tighter, the ending a touch sturdier.
On the OTHER hand … ?
On the other handed both cast, writing and directing are — if not stunning — then certainly acceptable: everyone fills their given roles well and the basic idea is sound.
On top of that? The Meanwhile City sets and costuming are superb, looking like the results of a drunken evening with Albrecht Dürer and Kevin O’Neil.
Personally … ?
You may well be pleasantly surprised.
Franklyn
★★★☆
* She ALSO plays Sally, Milo’s childhood sweetheart.
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