Jonathan Preest (Ryan Phillippe) is a masked
man with no religion in a place called Meanwhile
City. It is a place where everyone
must have a faith whether it is based on washing machine instructions, simple faith in God, or be a Seventh Day Manicurist. Preest is after The Individual, the leader of Duplex Ride cult, who has kidnapped
an 11 year old girl. Preest is captured by the Clerics of the Ministry and imprisoned
for four years before he is given a deal to kill The Individual in trade for his freedom.
Preest escapes.
Meanwhile in modern day London,
Milo (Sam Riley) mopes around after his bride-to-be calls off the wedding while Emilia (Eva Green)
uses her suicide attempts as part of her video projects. Then there is
a pastor (Bernard Hill) who searches for his son (that escaped from an institution).
Their stories and Preest’s are tied together by a sense of loss they each have experienced. FRANKLYN is a jigsaw puzzle. The stories at first seem
unrelated until they do collide. The visuals of Meanwhile
City are fantastic. The story
is engaging with Emilia’s and Preest’s being the most engaging. I
do wish more of the movie took place in Meanwhile City. Some part of it does get predictable.
I do love the touch about the story of the man who dreamed up a reality and a princess (only to leave one day). FRANKLYN is also a film world where the imaginary friends aren’t as imaginary
as they seem. If you want a film from a new voice, check out this unexpected
film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The four minute Making Of featurette is
four minutes of promotional fluff. The 30 minutes of cast and crew interviews
prove to be more rewarding as they reveal a few things about the movie like production design, the story, casting, and why
the actors were attracted to FRANKLYN
The three deleted scenes don’t add
anything to the film, but the Bearded Men Cult scene does make chuckle. Also
included is the theatrical trailer.
FINAL ANALYSIS: FRANKLYN is an impressive debut feature due to its visuals and characters.
This DVD review is (c)11-27-2009 David Blackwell and cannot
be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
