Since 2003, Sundance awards the Alfred P. Sloan Prize to a feature with “science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.” 2011 saw the slow but intriguing Another Earth win, and this year it went to Robot And Frank, a near-future tale about a cranky ex-jewel thief reluctantly warming to his caretaker robot. Watch this clip:
Robot And Frank has been praised for its bitter sweet look at Alzheimers and for its deeper than usual treatment of how technology can affect us. The robot suit may not be the best I’ve ever seen, but the cast looks great. Frank Langella (Oscar nominated as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon) stars alongside Liv Tyler, James Marsden (Cyclops from X-Men) and Susan Sarandon. The robot is voiced by Peter Sarsgaard.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition has picked up the flick for theatrical release, and in theory, that includes Australia. However, it looks like you’ll be able to catch it on MUBI first.
Josh
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 8:41 AMLooks pretty good. I’ll keep an eye open for it.
EMH
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 9:09 AMInteresting but the more care is provided (the robot is shaving Frank) the less Frank will be able to take care of himself. The people who produced this movie should be introduced to the recent BBC production “The Young Ones”, which is NOT the hilarious comedy series for about 25 years ago.
geoffvster
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 8:16 AMI feel like I’ve just seen 40+ years into my future.