Franklyn (2008)

One of my all time favorites.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In The Tradition Of Movies Like Crash, Magnolia (A Brilliant Movie), Babel. Pulp Fiction We Follow 4 Different Stories As They Slowly Weave Together Becoming In The End One Story ... Ryan Phillippe Is A Detective Seeking Justice For A Dead 6 Year Old Girl ... Bernard Hill A Worried Father Looking For His Lost Son ... Sam Riley A Man Looking To Replace The Love He Has Lost ... Eva Green An Artist That Suffers Through Multiple Suicide Attempts For Her Art ... These 4 Lives Are Thrown Together In What Appears To Be A Perfect Religious Society ... Like The Movies This One Imitates This Is A Brilliant Story That Reminds Us That As Large As The World Is It Is Very Tiny In The Scope Of All Things ... We Are not Alone, We Live, Suffer, Laugh, Cry, Rejoice, Etc .. Together ... The Writing Is Excellent As Well As The Acting ... Special Credit To Gerald McMorrow's Direction, His Ability To Keep Such A Huge Story In Front Of The Camera From Beginning To End Was Amazing ... Also It Would Be Wrong To Not Mention Those Who Handled The Production Design, Art Direction, Set Decoration And Costume Design ... Original And Enticing This Is Not A Movie To Be Missed ... In A World Gone Mad Hope Survives

Pretty much agree entirely with Neil Welch's review on here. Though personally I'd give it about a 4, because I did derive some enjoyment from Franklyn.But they needed to sit down and re-edit the plot lines once they had the basics down. Essentially they started booking the cast, cgi and catering before they had the whiteboard flow-charting fully scribbled out.At about the half-way mark I commented to my partner, in words approximated thus - "I have a dreadful feeling that this is one of those films where they think they can get away with three {I hadn't noticed it was four yet - ed.} separate completely un-related threads and call it a film." Ie. the kind of thing that a 22 year old film student thinks is "terribly, frightfully original" whereas in fact it's been tried time and again and it *never* works, the threads must be related in some way. And the relationship needs to be a good one, an artistically whole one (for an example of completely failing to do this, take Jane-I-Swear-Its-Art-Campion's utterly disastrous 'Holy Smoke').Eventually my fears were allayed but... it still didn't quite work. Along with Neil I have to say that Milo really didn't need to be there. The only reason the adult Sally looked like Emelia was his chance meeting in the park when she was stalking him for her video project. Come on, thats a very tenuous link. And the cleaners got to be mysterious know-it-all figures without any real justification: it was hinted that they shared the same space as Sally, but hints weren't enough by this stage of the film, it should have been coming together not getting vaguer.And one more thing. Can we please stop praising Eva Green. If you want to get into her pants, contact her agent. She only has one act, and it's bloody annoying. It suited her role in Penny Dreadful, it suits her role here as the direly, *direly* narcissistic Emelia. But either way, I just wanted somebody to step in, yell "you're a parasitic w*nker!" and punch her in the face. Her tutor *almost* gave me satisfaction, but even he ended up one of the film's insipid roadkill elements.Can't bring myself to hate this film because there was so much I liked about it, but gaaaahhh, somebody needs a stern talking-to.

If you like dark, Gothic movies with both style & intelligence, this one's for you. First-time director/writer Gerald McMorrow makes a great debut with "Franklyn", a cryptic fantasy-thriller about 4 lost souls in different times & places, bound together by a mystery that slowly unravels to a brilliant climax.The story is told in fragments, and if you're not paying attention you might easily get lost. But that's what makes it so rewarding when you start to figure it out, and you realize what these people have in common.Most of the action happens in a nightmarish, dystopian world called "Meanwhile City". These scenes are reminiscent of the haunting works of Alex Proyas ("The Crow", "Dark City") with bits of Frank Miller's comic book style ("Sin City", "The Spirit"). There are also some refreshing, humorous nods toward Terry Gilliam ("Brazil", "12 Monkeys"). But what sets this apart from those dark, shadowy films is the juxtaposition of contemporary London, bright & crisp, like something you'd see by the German master Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run", "Heaven", "Perfume").If you don't recognize all those names, don't worry. The point I'm making is that McMorrow's directorial debut has elements of many great directors tied together in a fresh, original way.There's not as much action in this film as in most fantasy-thrillers. Depending on how you like your movies, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. I thought it was perfect because it lets the story breathe, and it gives us the chance to digest the slowly-unravelling mystery. There are interwoven themes touching on religion, individuality, family, fate, love & hate. And psychosis, which always makes things fun.And even though it may be light on action & explosions, there's tons of nice eye candy to keep you riveted. Speaking as a hetero male, by "eye candy" I mean Eva Green and her sexy goth wardrobe! (If I weren't such a hetero guy, I'd be tempted to become a cross dresser.) The 2 leading men are quite the lookers, too, both suave & classy in their own way. And if that's not enough eye candy, you can't miss the enormous sets & wide angle shots: breathtaking.If you're a fan of any of the directors/films I mentioned above, don't hesitate to check this out.

Several different plot strands that somehow magically (unrealistically) join up right at the end. Pulp fiction or magnolia this is not. This is not even a true science fiction movie. That was the sole reason i bought the film...Most of the film is slightly dull and hard to follow. The scenes in the 'alternative' London are just plain silly and badly scripted. Yet when we connect them with our London they do actually make a little more sense and take on a deeper meaning that previously thought. This eureka moment is one of the few moments in the film that actually impress. The other being the scene between Milo and his mum regarding his great realisation about Sally.The ending is nonsensical and just not a good enough pay off for what we have had to sit through. The only semi-interesting character and decently acted part was that played by Eva Green. Also helps that she looks pretty cool throughout.