Being one of my most anticipated films of the year, I was really excited to finally get a chance to sit down and watch Lenny Abrahamson's Frank. Though the film did not live up to my high expectations, I was still entertained a great deal, and would still consider it to be very good.

The film's story is very loosely based on that of Frank Sidebottom, the comic alter ego of Chris Sievey. And by that I mean that the only resemblance between the two is the Mask. The story starts as we meet a young, hopeful songwriter named Jon, who while walking along the beach, spots a man trying to drown himself. That man happens to be a keyboardist for a local band, and Jon is invited to fill his place for a gig that's happening that night. It is then where we get our first look at the band's front man, Frank, who is wearing a big plaster mask over his head. Jon impresses and is subsequently invited to Ireland with the band, where they will be working on their next album, all while dealing with his new band mates.

That's the gist of the story which I do like very much. It wasn't perfect by any means, it had its fair share of clichés, as well as a few hammered in moments. But overall, the plot was amiable and sweet, yet at the same time, dark and tragic.

Frank is an incredibly interesting character. The way he presents himself is so unique, and weird that he immediately grabs your attention as you stare in the blank face of his mask. The mask itself shields you from his face, yet you feel a strange connection and a strong level of trust for him. This is also achievable thanks to the wonderful performance by Michael Fassbender, who even though doesn't show his face, still manages to give out a very real and heartfelt performance.

We then come to Jon, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who gets better and better with each role. Gleeson has this certain charm and endearing personality to him that makes him instantly likeable. It's no different for his role here as Jon, as you quickly learn to care about him, and are gripped by his character's actions. Which is more than what can be said about Clara, who could, and should, have been a bit better. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the part, and she is great in her acting, but her character never really had any major character development, which made her very one dimensional.

The major problems with Frank arise with the direction. While Abrahamson did a great job with the film visually, creating some truly beautiful scenes, the way he set up the film left a lot to be desired. There are a lot of times where the film will tend to have more quirk than it needs as it borders on the edge of becoming yet another unoriginal quirk-fest. The film also focuses too much on the comedy, and while the film does have a few funny scenes, there were a lot others where the comedy felt too forced and almost cringey. I also didn't care for some of the scenes where the film got way too heavy handed, that it took me straight out of the film and made me groan.

One last thing to mention about Frank is the music. It's sort of a mix between electronic and grunge. It's not something you would hear everyday on the radio, but it was so strange and alien, that it had this fantastical feel to it, and thus gave Frank a fantastical feel to him. The music was catchy, and I did enjoy it. But I could definitely see why some people would detest it.

Much like the eccentric singer himself, the film is charming and enchanting. Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan's brilliant script provide us with some interesting characters and engrossing story, as well as an excellent ending.

In the end, Frank is a film that unfortunately suffers from a few hiccups, but is still definitely worth a watch.