Freezer

Freezer (film)

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Freezer
Film poster
Directed by	Mikael Salomon
Produced by	Rhonda Baker David Buelow
Written by	Tom Doganoglu Shane Weisfeld
Starring	Dylan McDermott Yuliya Snigir Peter Facinelli Andrey Ivchenko Pascal Petardi David McNally Markus Parilo Milan Malisic
Music by	David C. Williams
Cinematography	John Dyer
Edited by	Bridget Durnford
Production company	Envision Media Arts
Distributed by	Anchor Bay Entertainment Eagle Films Freestyle Releasing[1]
Release dates	January 17, 2014(Los Angeles premiere) January 21, 2014(DVD release)
Running time	82 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English Russian

Freezer is a 2014 American thriller film, directed by TV director Mikael Salomon. The film stars Dylan McDermott, Yuliya Snigir and Peter Facinelli.

Plot[edit]

Robert Saunders (Dylan McDermott) wakes up to find himself bound and locked inside a meat locker. After he is able to cut himself loose, two Russian mobsters Kiril and Stepan enter the freezer to question him. It becomes apparent that neither understand English, but before they leave they tell a confused Robert they want "money". Left alone, Robert finds a ventilation duct in the top of the ceiling that appears to lead to the fans inside the locker. Just then, he finds a ringing cell phone on the floor and speaks with Detective Al Dorian, who first addresses him as "Sam". Robert explains that he was having dinner in a restaurant with his girlfriend for his birthday before being knocked unconscious and thrown into the freezer. Before Dorian can complete a trace, the mobsters return and destroy the phone. They are accompanied this time by the bi-lingual Alisa (Yuliya Snigir), who accuses Robert of having stolen $8 million from them and demands its return; otherwise, he will freeze to death within four hours. He tries to convince them that he is innocent and this is a case of mistaken identity, but the Russians are undeterred and take his shoes before leaving.

After finding bags to wrap his bare feet, Robert tries to keep his body temperature up by exercising. While running around the room, he knocks over some boxes revealing a seriously wounded Detective Sam Gurov lying in a shelf. Sam tells Robert that he will not be allowed to leave the locker alive regardless if he is able to convince the mobsters he is innocent. Before passing out, he confesses that he was an undercover cop trying to bring down the mobsters' boss, Oleg. Robert hides Sam again and begins attempting to stop the fans by beating them with a fire extinguisher.

The Russians return and again Alisa demands to know where the money is. Robert maintains his ignorance of the matter and evades her questions, but a groan from Sam alerts Kiril. Robert takes advantage of the situation by grabbing Alisa as Kiril threatens to kill Sam. Sam shatters Robert's innocence by telling them Robert took the money despite his protests. Robert deduces that Alisa was supposed to be in charge of the lost money and she begs Robert to confess if not to save himself, then to save her. After the Russians leave again, Sam explains that after a failed hit, Oleg began moving his vast fortune around for protection; during the shuffle, the $8 million was lost. Sam volunteers to change clothes with Robert and pose as him in order to allow Robert a chance at escape. The plan fails, and Robert, in a bid to save Sam's life, confesses that the money is hidden in the restaurant where he was abducted. Despite this, he is knocked out and Sam is killed.

Upon waking up, Robert makes Alisa believe that Stepan is the real thief and Robert is being framed, since Stepan was responsible for both the death of Sam's informant and identifying Robert as the thief. Robert kills Kiril with a meat hook, but is incapacitated by Stepan before he can escape. Alisa, now clearly shaken, tells Stepan that Robert accused him of taking the money. Enraged by Kiril's death, Stepan drags Alisa out of the freezer and locks Robert inside once again. After he puts on Kiril's clothes, he continues to search for but fails to find any way out of the meat locker. When Stepan and Alisa return, Robert convinces them to let him contact Detective Dorian because, as Sam's partner, he will know where the money is. Stepan impatiently ends the call and throws a bucket of water on Robert before leaving.

With hypothermia setting in, Robert again tries the disconnect to fan wires in the ventilation shaft, but is unable to due to his state. At that time, a well-dressed and bound Russian man is thrown into the room with Robert. The man, introducing himself as Danil, offers to help Robert escape in exchange for a portion of the money. Robert instructs Danil to cut the electrical wires in the shaft, but when the mobsters enter the room, Danil is electrocuted to death. Alisa reveals that Danil was merely a plant to get the truth from Robert and was in fact Vadim, Oleg's son.

When Oleg arrives, he finds Robert and identifies him as the assassin who previously failed to kill him. Once Robert drops his claimed innocence and acknowledges the truth, he and Oleg fight as Alisa and Stepan look on. Due to his weakened state, Oleg gains the upper hand but is killed by Alisa before he can finish off Robert. Alisa is in fact Robert's girlfriend and had been working on the inside for him. A wounded Stepan escapes and locks the two inside. Robert uses the severed electrical wires to cause the metal meat rack to give off enough heat to warm their hands. At this time, Detective Dorian arrives and demands to know where the money is after instructing the two to bind their hands to the rack. Alisa confesses that the money has been inside the meat locker the entire time, hidden inside the boxes of cuts. While Dorian is distracted with this, Alisa and Robert escape by burning through the zip ties binding their wrists together on the heated rack.

Robert and Alisa use a semi-truck to hook up to the freezer with the money and Dorian inside. After traveling to a port, they load the container onto a cargo ship. Alisa gives Robert a "birthday present" from Oleg, a box of cuts holding a large amount of money. They drive off planning a warm vacation, but not before knocking an injured Stepan into the bay.

Cast[edit]

• Dylan McDermott as Robert
• Yuliya Snigir as Alisa
• Peter Facinelli as Detective Sam Gurov
• Andrey Ivchenko as Kiril
• Pascal Petardi as Vadim
• David McNally as Detective Al Dorian
• Markus Parilo as Oleg
• Milan Malisic as Stepan

Release[edit]

Home media[edit]

The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and as a combo pack on January 21, 2014.

Frank

Frank (film)

For the 1973 film, see Frank Film.

Frank
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lenny Abrahamson
Produced by	David Barron Ed Guiney Stevie Lee
Written by	Jon Ronson Peter Straughan
Based on	"Oh blimey!" by Jon Ronson
Starring	Domhnall Gleeson Maggie Gyllenhaal Scoot McNairy Michael Fassbender
Music by	Stephen Rennicks
Cinematography	James Mather
Edited by	Nathan Nugent
Production company	Film4 Irish Film Board - Bord Scannán na hÉireann Element Pictures Runaway Fridge Films[1]
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures (US) Element Pictures (Ireland)
Release dates	17 January 2014(Sundance) 9 May 2014(United Kingdom)
Running time	95 minutes[2]
Country	Ireland United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£1 million
Box office	£1.2 million[3][4]

Frank is a 2014 comedy-drama film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy and Michael Fassbender as the title character. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It was released in Ireland on 2 May 2014 and was released on DVD and On-Demand on 12 September 2014.^[5] It was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2014.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
• 4 Release
• 5 Reception
  • 5.1 Accolades
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Plot[edit]

Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), an aspiring songwriter, witnesses a man trying to drown himself while walking along the beach of his town. The man is taken to the hospital and Jon talks to Don (Scoot McNairy), who explains the man was a keyboardist in an experimental band, the Soronprfbs, managed by him. Jon mentions that he plays keyboards and is invited to play with them that night. Jon goes along and meets the rest of the band, all of whom are reluctant about Jon, except Frank (Michael Fassbender), the band leader who wears a papier-mâché mask. The concert goes well, until Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) breaks her theremin and storms offstage.

Frank invites Jon to become a full-time member. He accompanies them to Ireland, where they will record their first album in a remote cabin for the next year. Clara is very antipathic towards Jon, and continually torments him for being mediocre and having no talent.

Don explains to Jon that he wanted to be a songwriter too, and just like Jon lacked talent and was terrible. He plays a song for Jon, who compliments it. Don tells Jon that Frank is special, and that eventually Jon will believe that he either can be Frank or could at least be like him, but that it is impossible because Frank is unique. Don implies that this realization will hurt Jon the most, and that this is what is causing Don to be depressed himself. However, Jon feels that if he could just have hard experiences that he assumes Frank had (with his mental illness and believed hard childhood) that it would fuel him and get him to take the next step in his creativity. Jon believes that his time with the band will be the catalyst that will make this happen.

The morning after they complete recording of their album, Jon finds Frank's corpse hanging from a tree. He calls the rest of the band down and they remove the mask, only to find it was Don wearing Frank's mask. Don is cremated and Jon is told that Don was the first keyboard player for Frank. Jon realizes that every keyboard player the band has had has had some kind of mental breakdown.

Afterwards, Jon reveals he has been posting the band's recording sessions online. The Soronprfbs have gained a small following and have been invited to South by Southwest. Clara is against going to South by Southwest, and accuses Jon of manipulating Frank and giving him delusions of grandeur. During one of their fights, Clara and Jon's hatred for each other turns into passion and they end up having sex, but Clara tells Jon that he disgusts her and they will never be together again. However, Frank wants to be popular and to create "extremely likable music" so he decides to go; Clara warns Jon that if things go badly in Austin she'll stab him.

Upon arrival in Texas, Jon, Frank and Clara scatter Don's ashes, but realize the band's guitarist Baraque (Francois Civil) accidentally packed a canister of powdered food instead of the ashes. Afterwards, the band travels to Austin, while signing up for South by Southwest Jon and the band discover that they aren't as popular as they thought, and that the crowd will have no idea who they are and will have never listened to their music before. Upon hearing this, Frank starts to become erratic and has a panic attack. Clara sees the changes in Frank and knows that he can't handle this situation, so she pleads with Jon to help convince Frank to not perform and go back to their unknown status. Jon refuses and works with Frank to try to create a more likeable version of their songs. On the day before the concert, Clara and Frank disappear. Jon finds them in an alley where Clara is trying to calm Frank and get him to agree to leave.

Jon convinces Frank to ignore Clara and to do the gig. Clara stabs Jon in the leg and is later arrested by the police. Back at the hotel room Drummer Nana (Carla Azar) and Baraque accuse Jon of getting rid of Clara and quit the band. Jon and Frank become a duo. As they go onstage, Jon announces that it's the best day of his life and begins singing one of his own songs. Frank falls over and when Jon rushes over to him to check on him, Frank tells Jon that his music is bad, suffering a nervous breakdown. Frank passes out on stage with Jon trying to revive him. The next day, Jon attempts to reason with Frank and tries to remove Frank's head. A panicked Frank runs out of the motel room and is hit by a car. Jon gives chase but realizes Frank has escaped, leaving only remains of the mask behind. Jon subsequently gets hit by a car.

After being released from the hospital, Jon goes to a diner. When other patrons refer to him and the band as "freaks", it dawns on him that their internet popularity was never about the music, they were simply laughing at how strange they all behaved. Sometime later, Jon has attempted to track down Frank in order to make amends, but he cannot be found anywhere. However, he finds a bar where Clara, Nana, and Baraque are now playing. Jon finally succeeds in tracking Frank to his hometown of Bluff, Kansas, where he is living with his parents. They explain that Frank has had mental health issues all his life and began wearing the mask as a teenager. Jon questions Frank's parents about his childhood. They tell Jon that Frank had a loving family and a happy childhood. Jon realizes that there was no traumatic event in Frank's life that inspired Frank to become a musical genius and his mental illness never propelled him but limited him. Jon now sees that Frank's amazing talents aren't from traumatic events or from his illness, that Frank's genius was just inherent, and that he will never be able to be like him; just as Don had told him. Jon finally sees Frank without a mask, only to see a despondent man with scars on his face and bald spots on his scalp from the prolonged use of the mask. Jon apologises to Frank for ruining the band and trying to take off his mask. He then takes Frank to the bar where the band is. Frank begins to speak and they realize who he is. He begins singing and joins them onstage while Jon leaves the bar.

Cast[edit]

• Michael Fassbender as Frank, the eccentric titular character and leader of the band who wears a large papier-mâchéhead throughout the film, similar to that worn by Frank Sidebottom.^[6] Director Lenny Abrahamson said that Fassbender was "very comfortable" wearing the head and said that he even enjoyed acting in it.^[7]
• Domhnall Gleeson as Jon, a young wannabe musician who joins Frank's band.^[8]
• Maggie Gyllenhaal as Clara, Frank's often aggressive sidekick who plays a Korg MS-10 and a theremin.^[9][10] Gyllenhaal originally turned down the role, saying that she didn't understand it, but the story stuck with her and weeks later she changed her mind.^[11] Before filming started Gyllenhaal decided to act as though Clara was Frank's true love but said that it was hard due to Frank's head.^[7]
• Scoot McNairy as Don, the band's manager.^[10]

• Carla Azar as Nana, the band's drummer.
• François Civil as Baraque, the French bass guitar player.

Production[edit]

Frank is a fictional story mostly inspired by Frank Sidebottom, the comic persona of Chris Sievey who is thought to have given his backing to the film before his death, but the plot was also inspired by other musicians like Daniel Johnston andCaptain Beefheart.^[8][12] Jon Ronson, who co-wrote the film, was part of Sidebottom's band, and the plot began as an adaptation of his writings but later became a fictional take on it.^[11][13] The film shot in County Wicklow, Dublin, and New Mexico in 2013.^[14][15][16] The music performed by the band in the film was recorded live by the cast while filming.^[10]

Release[edit]

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 17 January 2014.^[17] When audiences went to see the film at Sundance, they were all given masks similar to that worn by Frank in the film.^[7] The film premiered in Europe at its European premiere in Dublin on 25 April 2014.^[18] The film was released in cinemas nation-wide in the Republic of Ireland on 2 May 2014^[5] and in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2014.^[19]

Reception[edit]

Frank received highly positive reviews from critics and has a rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 145 reviews with an average score of 7.5 out of 10. Most of the praise was directed towards the cast (especially Fassbender's performance) and the quirky nature of the film. The consensus states "Funny, clever, and endearingly unusual, Frank transcends its quirky trappings with a heartfelt -- and surprisingly thought-provoking -- story."^[20] On Metacritic, based on 31 reviews, Frankhas a score of 76 out of 100, signifying generally favorable reviews.^[21]

The Daily Telegraph‍ '​s Amber Wilkinson rated the film 4/5, calling it "off-beat and punk-spirited."^[22] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it four stars out of five, saying: "Frank works as satire, as memoir, as comedy bromance, but it works mostly because it is just so weird".^[23] Kyle Smith of the New York Post described it as a "whimsical delight", saying it has a lot of heart, and commenting positively on Gleeson in particular.^[24] However, Smith also found it unfortunate that the film came "crashing down in a total bummer of a third act".^[24][10] Criticism for the film was largely based on how the plot developed towards its end.

In conjunction with the U.S. release of the film, Michael Fassbender made an appearance as Frank with his band on The Colbert Report.^[25]

Accolades[edit]

Date of ceremony	Group	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
7 December 2014[26]	British Independent Film Awards	Best Screenplay	Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan	Won
		Best Director	Lenny Abrahamson	Nominated
		Best Technical Achievement – Music	Stephen Rennicks	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Michael Fassbender	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Maggie Gyllenhaal	Nominated
December 2014[27]	Les Arcs European Cinema Festival	Best Score	Stephen Rennicks	Won
18 December 2014[28]	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Best Song	"I Love You All"	Won