Robot
and Frank is set in the “near future”, a future in which
videochat is routine, the phones are even thinner, and robot assistants are
commonplace. Frank (Frank Langella) has
dementia, and his family is growing increasingly worried. His son Hunter (James Marsden) comes to check
up on him once a week, but the distance makes the trip a burden, so Hunter’s
solution is to place Frank in a robot’s care.
The robot describes itself as a “health care
aide”, and devotes itself to Frank’s well-being. It wakes Frank early and tries to establish a
routine. Frank develops a routine, but
after a trip to a library fundraiser, his old passion is awakened and he wants
to start stealing again with the robot’s assistance.
Overall, Robot
and Frank is an entertaining film.
It raises questions subtly about the role of robots (present and future)
and society’s push toward digital media (the library that Frank visit has a
sole worker and the books are being digitized and then discarded). Frank ultimately is an anti-hero, as once he
gets back into thievery, he lets nothing come before that compulsion, and
Langella plays him as a towering yet complex character.
Other than Langella, however, the supporting
cast is not noteworthy. Liv Tyler is
quite annoying as Langella’s daughter Madison, James Marsden’s role could be
played by anyone, and the library “consultant” played by James Strong reminded
me of the villain in Despicable Me
for some reason. Susan Sarandon does add
a little soul as the librarian love interest, but Langella’s performance opposite
an unnerving robot carries the day here.
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