Sometimes
you walk into a movie not expecting much and when it says ‘the end’ you
are bowled over with how charmed you were and that is how I felt about
“Robot and Frank”! The story takes place sometime in the near future in
Cold Springs, New York. Nothing really much has changed except for large
TV Skype screens but, and this is a big but, there are robots playing
the role of caretakers for, mainly, elderly people.. Who wouldn’t want a
robot to clean your place, cook your food, put you on a healthy diet,
takes walks with you and, generally, doing the things you don’t like to
do? Frank, that’s who.

The
robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) is given to Frank (Frank Langella) by
his son Hunter (James Marsden) who is concerned that his father is
suffering dementia. Frank was a ‘cat burglar’ and served 2 different
terms in prison, one for tax evasion that embarasses him, and wasn’t
around for Hunter or Hunter’s sister, Madison, (Liv Tyler) as they were
growing up. In his 70s is Frank  suffering dementia or just forgetful or
just bored stiff? In any case he is not interested in having a robot
taking care of him.

Frank
has a ‘thing’ for the town librarian Jennifer (Susan Sarandon) who one
day invites him to a party being given by a software tycoon Jake (Jeremy
Strong) who plans to switch all the printed books in the library to
digital books. At the party Frank notices Jake’s wife decked out many
huge diamonds and being Frank his mind starts planning what he would
have done 20 -30 years ago. Being a  thief is what Frank is and he still
plies his trade by stealing soap animals in a local store. In one
instance when the robot covers Frank’s theft and the latter begins to
think the robot may be more useful than he thought.

Frank
tells the robot, who he refuses to name, tales about his past and
explains some of the things he has done. It isn’t long before he has the
robot learning how to pick locks and they go on their first job,
stealing the original library “Don Quixote”  book so Frank can give it
to Jennifer. With success Frank decides he and robot will steal the
jewels from Jake’s house. It isn’t long before the local Sheriff (Jeremy
Sisto) has dealings with Frank, and the robot, not quite sure if Frank
is faking it, being as sly as a fox or really has dementia.

The
screenplay, by Christopher D. Ford,  doesn’t go where you think it will
and, sometimes doesn’t go as far as it should. Also in the future will
young tycoons still be called yuppies? There is one scene which should
have been expanded but it was if Ford didn’t want to get too
sentimental. The direction, by Jake Schreier, doesn’t make the future
seem so different from today but then he does make Frank and robot the
stars as it should be.

Langella
does a charming job while Sisto, Tyler, Marsden and Strong give him
professional backup. There is no denying Sarandon’s presence on screen
and a nod has to be given to Sarsgaard as the voice of robot almost but
not making it human while whoever came up with the robot itself deserves
to take a bow.

“Robot
and Frank” is not a masterpiece of movie making but it provides 90
minutes of charm, fun and, at times intrigue. See it for a change of
pace.