Franklyn (2008)

Director: Gerald McMorrow

Starring: Eva Green, Ryan Phillippe, Sam Riley

A portrait of the broken lives of four people (a vigilante detective, a worried parent, an awkward man looking for love and a suicidal artist) as they all struggle to cope in their religiously-dystopian city.

The reveal of what is actually going on in the film is quite awesome, but to sit through an entire film just to enjoy the final 15 minutes is not exactly my idea of fun.

The film plays like two different films, one in the present and one in a fictional universe. There is no connection between the two stories – or so it seems, at least, until the final few minutes when everything starts making sense. I honestly couldn’t make head or tails what this was all about, or the message it tried to convey. Jumping between the time periods added to the confusion. The film looked more like an advertising vessel, with the amount of sponsors clearly visible. (Then again, the film was funded by the National Lottery…that figures…).

I didn’t – and still don’t – understand the constant reference to faith and religion. This was uninteresting and rather boring, actually. The film and character motives only become clear towards the end, and yes, those final few minutes are indeed interesting, but it was not enough (for me) for the film to redeem itself.

Credit where credit is due: some of the visuals were really good, as well as interesting photography. But who (or what) is Franklyn???

Would I watch it again? No.