An unexpected hit out of Sundance, where we called it a “terrific and sublime experience,” Lenny Abrahamson’s “Frank” has since gathered momentum on its way to a theatrical release via continued positive buzz, as well as a strong promotional push of its odder elements. We’ve already seen a host of trailers, interviews and the single “I Love You All” from the film, and now you can add two new clips to the bunch that give a sense of its strange and singular rhythms.
Starring Michael Fassbender as the titular band leader and loosely based on the artist Frank Sidebottom aka Chris Sievey (mostly from the papier maché head that he wears), the film captures the occasionally exhilarating, oftentimes tedious day-to-day of musicians and dreamers struggling to make a mark. Two new clips showcase the dark humor too that comes from band relationships, as Maggie Gyllenhaal issues a violent threat toward replacement keyboardist Domhnall Gleeson, while elsewhere Scoot McNairy introduces Gleeson’s character to their new surroundings while they hunker down to record an album.
It’s all taken with a bittersweet tinge of truth from screenwriter Jon Ronson, who really did fill in for Sievey’s keyboard player, but by all accounts he’s taken the experience and helped to spin it into something special. Watch the clips below, before “Frank” opens in theatres August 22nd.
