Franklyn

Based on the short film of the same name, Gerald McMorrow developed the themes and characters to a feature length film, with the curious name Franklyn.  Why 'curious'?  Well, none of the characters go by that name and it only features as the name on an apartment block entryphone system. 
 
Franklyn takes place in different times and different places: contemporary London and Meanwhile City, a fantastical dark place ruled by religious zealots.  In Meanwhile City, Jonathan Preest is the only non-believer in the entire metropolis and is able to avoid the authorities and carry out vigilante missions.  When one of these goes wrong and he is too late to save a girl from The Individual, the leader of a dangerous cult, his contact on the streets, Snakeworm, betrays him to the powers-that-be and he is imprisoned.  Four years later, he is released and sent on an assassination mission as The Individual has resurfaced and both the ruling elite and Preest want him dead.  In return for this mutually beneficial arrangement, Preest will be granted his freedom.
 

In London, Milo has returned home after being dumped at the altar during his wedding rehearsal but things look up when he sees an old childhood flame, Sally, who is now a teacher.  Emilia is a depressed art student who regularly attempts to kill herself as a cry for help, even going so far as to record them, leave the door open, the empty bottle of pills, a note giving her next of kin and leaving a key so the paramedics can lock up behind them.  She undergoes expensive therapy with her mother that seems to end in a regrettable outburst and early termination of the sessions. 
 
 
The press release mentions how this is destined for cult status like Brazil and Donnie Darko and can be compared to the likes of Blade Runner and there are certainly elements of all these films in Franklyn but I would say there is more than a smattering of Dark City about both the narrative and design of the film.  It has an impressive cast for any film, let alone someone's debut, with Ryan Phillipe as Preest, Eva Green as both Emilia and Sally, Sam Riley as Milo and Bernard Hill playing Peter.  Amongst the supporting cast are Susannah York and Art Malik.  The performances are universally excellent, with Sam Riley building on his own debut in Control and showing he is a fine dramatic actor.  You would expect good performances from the other members of the cast and no-one disappoints. 
 

As this deals with individualism, fate and parallel worlds, Franklyn is a film that needs repeated viewings - I watched it twice in one evening - the second time seeing the cogs turn as events unfold and you work out who fits where.  This is an immensely impressive debut film, whether it will be considered in the same league as Donnie Darko, Dark City or Brazil only time will tell, but it certainly puts Gerald McMorrow on the map as a talented filmmaker to watch - he is a great storyteller and has a terrific visual eye.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
The half hour making of, titled A Moment in the Meanwhile is an EPK featurette that is better than the usual fare containing interviews with Gerald McMorrow and other members of the crew and cast and is worth a watch.  McMorrow speaks well and a feature commentary would have been welcome. 

There are two deleted scenes, the best of which is when Emilia is confronted by a fairly annoyed paramedic who explains exactly what her little stunt meant to him.  You also get the theatrical trailer.  These features can be watched individually or together as there is a 'play all' option. 
 

The Picture
For a low budget film, Franklyn looks amazing with some scenes that are reminiscent of Guillermo del Toro's fantasy films in their design and detail.  There has obviously been plenty of time and effort spent on how the film should look, even down to the costumes and Preest's excellent mask that seems a combination of V, the Scream mask and the sackcloth headgear from The Strangers.  It is still a very distinctive look and his costume lends itself to an anti-hero from a graphic novel, indeed some of the film has that comic book appearance. 
 
The picture quality is excellent with plenty of background detail visible and virtually nothing in the way of grain or other detritus.  For a film like this you need good contrast levels and fortunately the disc delivers with no loss of definition in the darker scenes. 
 
*The pictures contained in this review are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the image quality of the disc.*
 
The Sound
With a choice of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or LPCM 2.0, I went for the former and found it to be clear and sharp, using the surrounds to make the action work well and the atmospheric score add to the overall viewing experience.  The LPCM track is clear and loud though you lose the soundstage of the high definition surround track. 
 
There are very good English HoH subtitles available that are free from errors though I did notice that they said 'John Humphries and Edward Stone' instead of 'Humphrys' and 'Stourton' but this will only be an issue if you listen to Today on Radio 4! 
 
 

Final Thoughts
Franklyn is a visually stunning film that lends itself to repeat watching and is one of the more impressive directorial debuts I've seen recently.  Fans of science fiction thrillers would do well to check this out, especially if you like the films to which this has been compared.