WHAT'S THE FREQUENCY, FRANKLYN?

I hate catching a glimpse of a film that obviously is trying to do something different, or at least travel off the beaten path, and thinking, “well, I just can’t get behind this at all.” Which is exactly the case with Franklyn. When I watch the trailer (which debuted on IGN last week) I feel the same sort of clarity Dan Rather did when he was mugged for his frequency. Lured in by Eva Green and Control‘s Sam Riley, I find Ryan Phillippe as a masked atheist trying to knock off religious officers, and some parallel reality in modern London. I also get a hell of a Dark City vibe, and a bit of Wanted. Neither of those is a good thing, in my case.

Gerald McMorrow’s film showed last year at the London Film Festival. Praise stemming from those first showings tended to focus on McMorrow’s ability to get these images on film using only a slight budget. That aspect is impressive; the film cost only six million pounds. Beyond that, I don’t know. I want to embrace anything that goes for a new feel, and that retains a sense of mystery in the trailer. This time, it ain’t happening.