Gaimanesque - Franklyn mini-review

As some of the posts in the next few weeks may suggest, I've discovered a vein of previously drafted film reviews. And since the election campaigns are currently still rather all-consuming, I'm bringing these artefacts to light to fill a few gaps in my blogging schedule.

Magpie Moth: blogging like it's the noughties all over again. :)

[warning - plot spoilers ahead]

Franklyn (2009) is a surprisingly thoughtful film of three interlocking stories - a jilted groom-to-be whse childhood friend mysteriously appears as a grown woman; an artist looking deep (too deep) into herself; a delusional soldier who imagines himself a grim atheist in a gothic city of religions, hunting down his father/adversary.

It's a fantasy film providing genre critique, looking at the perils and seductiveness of self-absorption in an interior world. And it has a genuinely moving ending - having your romantic leads only meet in the final scene is a pretty daring trick to pull.

Franklyn isn't quite up to the standards of Neil Gaiman, but it's certainly Gaimanesque in its conceit. It's a good try, certainly, and you can add on a point if you think you'll like the cut of its jib, making 6/10.