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Movie Review by The Gravedigger
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12.22.09
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This begins in a massive, labyrinthian city called Meanwhile City, with a character by the name of David Preest (Ryan Phillipe). Through a film-noir-like voice-over, we learn that he is the only one there who does not have religion. It's the law that you must worship something and the clerics, these guys with white skin and tall hats, enforce this rule. Of course, they are after Preest. Oh, and Preest wears this creepy looking mask, though it makes him stick out more than anything else. His goal is to kill someone named "The Individual", who is responsible for killing a girl he knew.
Then we go to modern-day London, where Emilia (Eva Green). She is a depressed art student who wears a lot of mascara and keeps on trying to kill herself. She says it's part of her art project, though she's doing it more to get back at her mother (Susannah York). We first see these two characters in a therapy session, in which they are trying to express their feelings.
There's also a story about Milo, who recently broke up with his fiance, and is reunited with a childhood girl friend, who may not actually be real. And then there is the story about a father searching for his son, who violently escaped from a mental institution. The son's name is David.
I found this to be an interesting film, both visually and in how the four stories eventually interconnect. In one scene, for example, we'll see two characters talking--and one is in the reality of Meanwhile City while the other is in London. And actress Eva Green (THE GOLDEN COMPASS) portrays two characters who are polar opposites. In fact, when we see the second character it doesn't immediately register that this is indeed the same actress.
FRANKLYN is definitely worth checking out if you like to think while you're watching a movie. It's like 23 GRAMS crossed with DARK CITY.
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Rating: 8.0 out of 10.0 - 2 votes cast total
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