Having bounced around for festivals for the last two years (wher it had been called East of Arcadia) FRANK THE BASTARD concerns a young woman who takes a road trip back to her old home town. She hasn't been there since her father took her away after her mother died when she was a child. Once there she finds a combination of welcoming “friends” who remember her dad and family and people who would rather she not ask about the past.
Good but not as good as it should be film has a great cast (any film either Chris Sarandon and William Sadler can’t be all bad and any film with both is much better just because they are in it) playing some really good characters. There is a compelling story at the center of the film.
The problem with the film is that the film doesn’t seem to know what kind of film it is. Is it a drama? A thriller? A horror movie? a combination? While there is nothing wrong with a film that can jump genres, it has to balance the tone, FRANK never gets the tone right with the result that while it remains a compelling drama it never generates the tension it should. Watching the film I was engaged but never tense.
I do like the film, It kept me watching all the way to the end without my attention wandering which says a great deal. Consider that any number of recent independent films had me checking my watch or checking my email. Its good enough I wish it was a better control of it's tome.
FRANK THE BASTARD hits select theaters Friday and is worth a shot.
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