Frank

As Domhnall Gleeson's character Jon asks in the film, how to describe Frank? Well, one way would be to say it's a laugh-riot. Another, that it looks at the concept of originality in a rather original way. And then the perils of forcing originality.

Jon is a young wannabe musician who gets roped into playing in a band because he can play a few notes on a keyboard. The band, "Soronprfbs", is led by Frank (Michael Fassbender), a strange man who wears a Frank Sidebottom head. After being whisked away to an Irish cabin resort to record an album with the band and soon they get a gig playing at the SXSW (South by Southwest) festival in Austin, Texas.

Director Lenny Abrahamson crafts a really original and clever, not to mention hilarious. The movie's main focus is that the character of Jon wants to attain a certain level of fame, as is evident with his obsession with social media (done in a very creative way, with every blog post and tweet projected onto the screen), and he believes he can attain this through Frank. All the while, he struggles with his own lack of creativity.

But I am almost leaving out one of the best parts of this movie; the performances. Domhnall Gleeson has been proving himself lately with excellent turns in films like About Time. Here he clings to the ideas of fame and originality like his life depends on it. Maggie Gyllenhaal also gives an outstanding performance as Clara, the band's theramin player. Clara is super aggressive and is reluctant to follow along with Jon's plans.

But the star attraction (for me, at least) was Michael Fassbender's performance. He spends ninety percent of the movie with the fibreglass head on, but is still able to give an emotive and evocative performance and unless you know it was him under the head you would be surprised to find it is him. Scoot McNairy (The Rover) is great in a supporting role.

At first I wasn't really a fan of the music that the band was producing (it is pretty avant-garde) but it kind of grew on my and now I'm a fan of Soronprfbs.

Verdict: A super funny and charming comedy about the ideas of originality. Great performances from Gleeson and Fassbender.