ROBOT & FRANK
Starring Frank Langella, Peter Sarsgaard
Directed by Jake Schreier
Catering in light sci-fi, Jake Schreiers directorial debut unfolds in a near future thats immediately recognizable. FaceTime has made some strides and cars are a little sleeker but, otherwise, things remain status quo. For the purposes of this story penned by Christopher D. Ford that means that the elderly are still being condescended to and neglected.
Such is the case with Frank (Frank Langella), a former thief enduring the onset of dementia. An aggravation for his son (James Marsden) and an afterthought to his daughter (Liv Tyler), Frank putters around, shoplifts soap and chats up a kindly librarian (Susan Sarandon). When his son drops off a caregiver robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), Frank is thoroughly unimpressed by its insistence that he get proper mental stimulation. However, that opinion changes when he realizes that his companion is completely amoral. Thus, the robot is open to helping Frank get back into the heist game.
Following the lead of Franks plot to steal a rare book from the library, the film benefits from establishing some eminently achievable goals. Consequently, it takes the entertaining form of a mismatched buddy comedy in which the old hand teaches the rookie the tricks of the trade. Admittedly, it commits the cardinal sin of many a criminal by getting too greedy and going for more (i.e. scoring a big emotional payoff) when it couldve made a clean getaway. However, given its prior record, youre willing to let it off with just a warning for this transgression rather than condemning it entirely.
