Frank & Lola

"Beware, my Lord, of jealousy, it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on." Iago in Othello

Frank (Michael Shannon), a top-rated chef in Vegas, falls for young fashion designer Lola (Imogen Poots) and that's the beginning and end. That is, his uneventful life just became upended by a girl he needs to trust but doesn't appear to merit it. Such is the conflict and drama of this small, tense, and satisfying drama with just a hint of thriller.

While Frank & Lola is a modern romance fraught with uncertainty because the principals orbit by themselves hoping to collide with love rather than let it ripen. The not-so-likely love between this older man and younger lost soul doesn't so much move on lust as it does on the couple's passion to do the right thing in the face of their defaults.

Lola's one-night stand and her admission to Frank start him into a spell of mistrust that propels the film thereafter. The film's center is in Shannon's believably smart man tossed in jealousy and mistrust that leads to violence and uncertain rapprochement with her.

Poots is marvelous as a lost soul looking in the wrong places--her eyes are the most soulful and vulnerable in cinema today. Shannon's minimalistic acting relays the perfect hard-boiled hero of few words. But be careful, he can see into your heart and with a word or two tell the whole sordid details of your innocence lost.

Frank & Lola is heavy on engaging dialogue and light on thriller action. Its strength is relaying how little we know about the ones closest to us.

Frank & Lola is essentially a story about the relationship between the two main characters, Frank and Lola. To give anymore details about the plot would be to spoil major events in the film, which are better left unexpected.

Having seen a fair share of thrillers, this movie does not have a lot of new plot points to show. However, the way characters play them out is what brings this movie above an average thriller. Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots understand their characters quite well and have great on-screen chemistry. Even the secondary characters all play their roles convincingly. When I saw Justin Long had a small part in this movie, I thought I would hate his character since he usually cannot play a dramatic role well. But he plays a sleazy business man and does a fine job.

To pinpoint the genre of this film is nearly impossible. It is definitely a thriller on some levels, but not wholly. There are good romance scenes but also heavy dramatic dialogue. There are traces of film-noir but not enough to consider it a modern noir. The film struggles a bit because it tries to fit so many elements in such a short time.

From a technical standpoint, the team did not try to do anything out of the ordinary. The direction was good. Cinematography was quite basic. The editing was standard except for one scene where there was a strange editing choice that didn't seem the fit with the flow of the movie. If you don't normally pay attention to the technical side of film, you probably won't notice anything inherently wrong.

Overall, if you like thrillers in general or character-driven stories with some depth to them, this is a good indie film to check out.

I'm a fan of Michael Shannon, but he is nobody's idea of a sex symbol. While a fantastic character actor, he doesn't do well in leading roles.

This film is full of cliche's yet manages to go exactly nowhere -- and slowly.

Greetings again from the darkness. Michael Shannon continues to be one of the most interesting actors working today. In this first feature from writer/director Matthew Ross, Mr. Shannon is the titular Frank, and his pained facial expressions elevate this neo-noir into a dark and intriguing exposition on male obsession and sexual jealousy.

The abrupt opening scene finds Frank and Lola (Imogen Poots) frolicking in bed after obviously just meeting for the first time that evening. We (and Lola) know we are in for something a bit different when Frank slams on the breaks and states, "Maybe we should wait until next time." Lola is taken aback, and we are soon watching this relationship develop … while simultaneously noting the subtle signs of troubled pasts for each of them.

Frank is a talented French chef and Lola is just starting her career as a fashion designer. His dark side flashes a bit more often, but before Lola ever comes clean, we realize there is unhappiness in her past. They seem to be two tortured souls in a jinxed relationship.

Filmmaker Ross keeps us (and Frank) on our toes as the script seems to continually offer yet another deeply held secret or mysterious character. Justin Long plays Lola's new employer, while the rarely-seen-these-days Rosanna Arquette plays Lola's name-dropping mother. However, it's Michael Nyquist (so great in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as the suave Frenchman with ties to Lola's past and present that really makes things interesting … and somehow even darker. His wife is played by the terrific French actress Emmanuelle Devos. Her screen time is limited, yet crucial.

The film was well received at Sundance, and it shares the creepiness of such films as Basic Instinct, Body Heat and Night Moves. Rarely do contemporary movies go as deep into the male psyche of obsession as this one, and the throw-back atmosphere is a perfect fit for the tone. Not many actors simmer like Michael Shannon, and the story offers him the perfect vehicle to remind us that everyone longs to be loved - even when we aren't sure we deserve it.

Maybe mild spoilers... Thought provoking movie about relationships and adultery trust and love. It kept me wondering where it was going and had a lot of tension and the performances helped this never quite sure who was lying, it seemed like it was heading to an exciting conclusion then just kind of trailed off, maybe that was the point of it like they are doomed to do this cycle repeatedly, but yea unsatisfying when you just want this character to have happiness, maybe that is the point too he can't be helped he's either unhappy with or without her. Maybe it is about embracing your dark side maybe he is lying more by not doing that. Maybe everyone is flawed. I could be giving it too much credit but great cinematography and acting, worth it for that at least.