02/06/2012: Franklyn [2008]

I picked up Franklyn after reading a list of Eva Green's other notable movies after I watch Dark Shadows. I actually had a bit of difficulty finding it, and only a couple weeks ago found it in my favourite used DVD store. I quickly picked it up, along with a couple of other movies I had been having trouble finding. Unlike, most of my pick-ups, Franklyn did not disappear into the pile of DVD I have yet to watch, and within a week and a half I had watched it. But was my intrigue satisfied?

 Franklyn is really a strange combination of what seems like two movies. In fact the movie tells the stories of four individuals split between contemporary London, and a dystopian future metropolis, where religions, hundreds of them dominate society. I was unaware of this split going in, and it lead to some interesting surprises. While originally I was disappointed by the fact that the movie would not take place entirely in the strange, steampunkesque, fantasy world, the stories of the troubled individuals was well crafted, if not all of the mysteries are completely revealed.

The futuristic world, the one I liked the most, is beautifully crafted. While the sprawling cityscape in the background is clearly an artists drawing the foreground imagery is done well. The locations and sets all fit together nicely, giving us a world that seems to have undergone an interesting mix of technological advancements. The costumes of the characters, as well as the props and the rest of the world give me very much a steampunk vibe. For those of you who are fans of the style, this would be your selling point. I, while uneducated in the steampunk fantasy scene, have always thought it looked pretty cool. However technology is by no means the dominating force in this world. Religion is.

If he is wearing a mask is he necessarily a superhero?

However, intriguingly, it is not simply one religion. In this dytopic eutopian world, hundreds of religions and cults are established, growing or failing. People are registered by their faith, not by class, wage, or any other status. It is not fully explained, nor was it truly fleshed out, as unfortunately, most of the movie does not take place their. What does occur in this world is an intriguing story about a masked priest in a struggle to save a girl from The Individual, while on the run from The Man (my name there).

London is where most of the movie actually occurs, and when it first jumps back to our real world, it was quite the shock for me. However I rolled with it, and while I couldn't piece together the link between the stories immediately, this world had characters no less intriguing than the last. The love sick young man, was my least favourite, although things were interesting, if confusing as hell. I initially thought that he was in a third timeline, until it revealed what exactly he was all about.

When are top hats coming back in style?

This second world also featured two other major character. The father searching for his son, who I'm picturing now as the doctor from the original Halloween movies, doesn't get a lot of screen time, but it is through him that we truly start piecing the clues together. Emilia, Eva Green's character I think is the individual who story gets the most focus, or perhaps I'm just remembering that badly. Eitherway, Emilia is some kind of troubled artist, the kind who like to attempt suicide in order to see the other side. However, that otherside, I believe was in fact the second world that we, the viewer, were already seeing.

In the end of course, both world collide, and many things are revealed. As always though, not everything is revealed and their are still somethings I'm unclear about. However, considering how many major story lines this movie was juggling, it is impressive it manages to wrap things up this nicely. I still feel like they could have done without that particular love sick guys storyline, which was a sappy romance movie plot in comparison to the more psychological thriller aspects that were Preest, and Emilia's stories. However if you want to go there, it really could have done well to make Preest's world and story its own movie. My theory is the writer couldn't fill out the story enough to make it its own, and so, instead entwined it with one rather good one, and another I'm iffy about.

Overall, Franklyn was very successful at drawing me in, and then originally grabbing my attention, if it may have been under slightly false pretenses. The majority of this movie is set in contemporary London, and deals with the troubled lives of a number of individuals who are in all connected in the end. While that may not be the most original plot, the style and substance of the movie, especially of the alternate world are rather unique, if not fully explored or developed. While I think a sequel is unlikely, Franklyn is still worth is you are into both people with problems and sci-fi fantasy movies. Seems like kinda a slim audience there.

Link:
Franklyn IMDb