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Frank
(Frank
Langella) is a stubborn old man who lives in an anonymous town. He was
formerly
a professional thief and served prison time for stealing high-end
jewellery.
His skills were so notorious that his exploits were even referenced in
police
academies. Now in the twilight of his life, his once agile mind has
lapsed into
a demented state and his only excitement derives from pleasant
flirtations with
his local librarian, Jennifer (Susan Sarandon). His attorney son,
Hunter (James
Marsden), pays him weekly visits and he keeps in contact with his
itinerant daughter,
Madison (Liv Tyler), but only intermittently. Resentful of his father’s
ungrateful
detachment, Hunter decides to cease his visits and leave Frank with a
robotic helper
(voiced by Peter Sarsgaard). It engages in conversations, performs all
household
duties and helps Frank lead a healthy life. Frank is initially hostile
towards the
idea but swallows his pride after Hunter threatens to put him in a
nursing home
should he refuse. Meanwhile, a progressive developer named Jake (Jeremy
Strong)
implements plans to reform the local library, beginning with the
digitalisation
of the library’s collection. One day, Frank fortuitously discovers that
the
robot cannot factor in state and
federal laws, and can thus help him commit robberies. He subsequently
embarks
on a mission to steal Jennifer’s favourite book, a rare edition of Don Quixote, from the library before it is
digitalised, with the robot’s assistance. Frank’s reversion to thievery
leads
to many unexpected emotions and surprises.
Robot
&
Frank is a droll,
low-key film that offers emotional rewards in incremental doses,
culminating in
a heartfelt conclusion that catches the audience off-guard. The obvious
source
of this emotion is the relationship that blossoms between Frank and his
“health
care aide”. At face value, they seem as incongruous a pair as
Harold Chasen and Maude Chardin. However, like them, their
relationship turns out to be rather harmonious. Their
exchanges are often dry-humoured and though one may be
forgiven for not laughing at them, they do create a wonderful
flow to the story. The laughs feel as
if they are gently and not forcibly manipulated into existence.
Langella’s
acting is sublimely subtle as he portrays an unlikeable character whose
contempt
towards his arid existence is palpable in all that he does. That said,
the same
restraint that helps the story flow also curtails its
overall impact dramatically. Schreier’s treatment of Frank’s life
is so unsentimental that it becomes difficult not to feel detached
towards most
of Frank’s story. His amorphous characterisation
of Frank results in Frank’s underlying relevance as a protagonist,
apart from
his faint illumination of modernity’s absurdities (which was done much
more
masterfully in Jacques Tati’s Playtime),
being completely lost on the audience. The story is narrow in scope and
esoteric
in its content with no clear insight into humanity shaping the story.
The
viewer is left with an empty last impression. The film merely provides
light entertainment
but it does it sufficiently well.
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