Having a full house premiere at the Stateside Theater in Austin on Monday was Frank, the Lenny Abrahamson directed offbeat comedy which takes inspiration from the Chris Sievey persona Frank Sidebottom.
Starring Domnhall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Fassbender – as the papier mache head wearing ‘Frank’ – it’s a film that has prompted much reaction on both ends of the spectrum, from both diehard Sidebottom fans and those film lovers who’ve now seen it at both SXSW and Sundance. The core three cast members, all with different and extensive backgrounds in film, come together brilliantly as both actors and in this case, musicians. Abrahamson reflects on the working dynamic between not only Fassbender, Gleeson and Gyllenhaal, but also the other band members as they learned to perform together.
” We did some music rehearsals before we shot, obviously the band is really playing in the film and that meant we had to have a functioning band. That put restraints on what was written and also, in a strange way, it liberated us in that we were really working with materials, we weren’t just inventing. People got on really well, musically and personally, particularly Francois who plays the bass player and Carla, who is the drummer. They were inseparable during the shoot! The rhythm section was this unit both on and off camera and they still see each other all the time. I think Michael is very friendly with the other members of the band; he would have known Domnhall before, but with the other members, they’re all now in touch with each other. They’re keen to play again as a band. You can’t really know that in advance.”
Especially considering its premiere for American audiences, there may have been some interesting responses to these actors taking on such offbeat roles. Of course, Fassbender’s Hollywood star has been rising significantly over the past year, while Gyllenhaal is known for her work in both indie and commercially successful Hollywood works. Gleeson too, while a veritable newcomer to the mainstream American audiences, has an impressive resume behind him and is also looking to be on the fast track to recognisable stardom alongside other young British talent making impacts in the US market. Abrahamson acknowledges the different levels of both fame and career experience and relates it to his film, right down to how each actor brought their A-games to the core dynamic.
“As a director, it’s a big mistake not to be sensitive to what’s happening between the people [cast] who are in front of you – what they bring to their character and how they interact with each other.” Abrahamson explains. “If you can make that work with the overarching thematic and tonal world of the film, then it’s always going to be better than just bringing a rigid set of preconceptions of the director and just beating everybody into that mould. In this case, people got on really well, particularly with the early stages.”
“It’s interesting, the relationship between Maggie and Michael. It was really sparky and creatively exciting and I think, for Maggie, it was really interesting having this strong emotional connection to a character that she can’t see. That, I think, plays really well. Michael’s small movements, his tiny little settlings and readjustments, it was amazing. It’s like, if you have a puppet, you can make that puppet so expressive. It is remarkable how much you can take away and still have a fully three dimensional character.”
“Domnhall’s part is the hardest thing in the film, just from a purely technical point of view, being the centre. Being, for one thing, quite often unappealing, being the straight person in the middle of all this madness is really hard. What’s amazing about Domnhall is that you can really feel his face changing from the beginning of the film to the end – he feels more at home with himself and there’s kind of melancholy resignation to him at the end and he tracks that so subtly and so well through the film.”
The quirky nature of the titular character in ‘Frank’ has been captured and realised by Abrahamson, yet has conjured up a considerable debate amongst the Frank Sidebottom/Chris Sievey fan base in the UK. Abrahamson explains the interesting momentum this film has taken him on as its origins and influences began to reach a wider audience.
“Frank Sidebottom wasn’t an outsider musician, he was a comedic creation, but Chris had that outsider spirit. Frank was a curiosity, but there was also something very moving about it. That became the beginning of this journey.”
“What’s interesting about the debate back in the UK, is that diehard Frank Sidebottom fans sort of feel that we’ve trampled on the purity of the original inspiration. I think people are very rigid in the categories that they like to use to think about films. It’s either a biopic or it’s not and if it is, why is he American? If it’s not, why is he wearing a head that Frank Sidebottom wore? I think the answer is that it’s own thing; it’s taken the spirit of that original inspiration. We didn’t want to deny the inspiration, hence the name, but it is about lots of other things as well.”
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