FRANK

 All it took was finding out Michael Fassbender's face was hidden to get me interested in Frank. A high end hipster drama that lifts above its cultural aesthetic and provides a funny yet poignant film.

Michael Fassbender dons a gigantic fake papier-mache head. With massive anime eyes and a delightful robot voice in this fictionalised account based on a book written by journalist Jon Ronson. Who In the 1980s played keyboards in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band, in which Frank wore a big fake head and nobody outside his inner circle knew his true identity.

The first divergent from the book is the jumper into a more modern setting. Set in a quiet English seaside town Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to pursue his passion for writing songs. In between working at his humdrum day job, Jon struggles to  write anything even vaguely resembling a half decent couple of lyrics. We watch him send tweets about his songwriting status or more the lack of it, along with updates on what he is eating for lunch. Jon undoubtedly enthusiastic  about this passion, he just can't seem to get it to come together yet.

When a band with an unpronounceable name comes to town. After witnessing their previous keyboard player go off the rails. Jon has the opportunity to play for a band at an actual gig. Shortly after he finds himself travelling with the band to Ireland to record an album which ends up taking him on a pretty epic journey.

Entranced by the fake head that group leader Frank wears 24/7 ("Would it help if I said my facial expressions out loud?"), Jon becomes seduced both by the guru-like enigma of his mentor, and by the waving hands of theremin player Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who seems able to conjure beautiful sounds and savage weapons out of thin air with equal ease.

Frank is a hard film to easily define and although it manages to remain on the right side of upbeat with plenty of laughs it does delve into the exploration of the creative process within mental illness. Franks states numerous times that he has a certificate. There is also an ongoing battle between art and commerce. Watching the exploits of the band trying to make a album touch on notions of artistic endeavour, originality and the sphere that songwriters and musicians have to encounter in trying to be creative. Which starts clashing with John's own dreams of stardom. Using social media to its full effect.  

This avant-garde performance art band, eventually gathers a huge enough following to get a gig at SXSW.From here the movie takes a dramatic shift. Without seeing Frank's facial expressions, we witness his transformation from mystic/guru to an unstable and socially uncomfortable dude. Striving for likability, but unsure what the term really means. Must artists suffer for their art? Why does society latch onto the newest social media gimmick? What is creative success and why are so many afraid of it?

Watching Frank is like peeling away the layers of an onion. Having question raised about the creative process, while watching the facade fade to reveal a more sinister issue. I was left we a sense of a movie journey. Something I haven't had since, Fight Club ? While Frank may not be for everyone, for those who like their movies to dance to a different beat, it is something rather exceptional.

4 out of 5 strange and wacky insane black comedies