Frank & Lola ** (2016, Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Justin Long, Michael Nyqvist, Emmanuelle Devos, Rosanna Arquette) – Movie Review

Michael Shannon rivets the attention as troubled chef Frank, a fiery cauldron always about to bubble over, way out-classing Imogen Poots as his girlfriend Lola, in debut writer-director Matthew Ross’s darkly playful, teasing psycho-sexual love story. This watchable movie is set in a well-shot Las Vegas and Paris and filmed in satisfying neo film noir style.

The film is mostly a two-hander, but also in the cast are Justin Long as Keith, a helpful businessman Lola meets, greatly upsetting the easily upset Frank, Michael Nyqvist as the creepy charmer Alan, Emmanuelle Devos as his wife Claire, and Rosanna Arquette as Lola’s mom Patricia. Like Poots, these actors give satisfactory performances too, but can’t raise their game enough to cope with Shannon’s powerhouse stuff.

Ross’s slightly too-talky script is also satisfactory, but it can’t find much fresh ground to tread or striking new things to surprise us with. Nevertheless, the film is interesting and worth a look.

The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where reviews were positive and Universal picked up worldwide rights.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Movie Review

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