26) FRANKLYN

Director: Gerald McMorrow
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Sam Riley, Eva Green, Bernard Hill, Richard Coyle, Susannah York, Art Malik
Year: 2008
Rating: R

A science fiction-fantasy tale split between two parallel worlds - modern-day London and the futuristic Meanwhile City - Franklyn is the story of four complete strangers who, as the film goes on, come closer and closer to a climax that will see all four of their paths cross with the firing of a single bullet.

Ryan Phillippe stars as Jonathan Priest, purveyor of justice in Meanwhile City ... a dark, dank metropolis where religion - any religion you like, or even wish to invent - is your key to salvation. Clerics have replaced cops, and law and order is dealt out to those who don't have a faith, or believe. Priest is one such person; a hooded avenger hired to right wrongs and rescue the kidnapped or persecuted ... and, as the film opens, Priest's failed attempt to rescue a young girl from her abductors, resulting in the child's death, has Priest both feeling a failure and determined to get back at the system that wronged her.

In contemporary London, we are introduced to three very different people, none of whom know each other - all of them "lost souls" like Jonathan Priest. Milo (Sam Riley) is a handsome young man on the eve of his wedding, whose fiancee suddenly calls the whole thing off. Emilia, an avant garde performance artist and art student with an obsession for her project on death, videotapes her various attempts at suicide for her project (she prefaces each attempt with a call reporting the attempt, so the paramedics will be sure to rescue her just in time). And Peter (Bernard Hill) is a middle-aged widow desperately searching for his missing son.

The narrative flips back and forth from Priest's efforts to go after and kill "The Individual" ... as, in London, Milo finds himself running into a female childhood friend who has grown into a beautiful woman, while Emilia seems to be growing closer and closer to madness in the name of art, as Peter gains more insight into the disturbing circumstances surrounding his son's disappearance. As various characters from both Meanwhile City AND London cross the paths of each of the four main characters, the parallel worlds seem closer and closer to converging ... as suspense builds, confusion turns slowly to clarity, and the fate of each character, as well as his or her relationship to the others, is revealed.

Though it's definitely on the somber/moody side, I liked Franklyn. You have to pay attention to what's going on or you might find yourself scratching your head in the end, wondering what the hell is happening - but overall writer/director Gerald McMorrow tells an intriguing story that's played out well by a solid cast (in an interview, Sam Riley says he originally read for the role of Jonathan Priest; wish I could see THAT version too, as Riley is really good here). McMorrow drops clues, here and there, to the surprise at the end, but I didn't see anything major coming until just before it happened, leaving me with a sense that I was following the complex threads of the tale pretty well. Meanwhile City is creepy and totalitarian; a nice contrast to the serenity (by comparison) of London, and I really liked that the end left you with a sense of hope - as well as the fact that our lives our constantly intertwined with those of strangers, and how one simple decision or wrong turn can completely change the future.

Stylish and entertaining - though a bit moody - if you like fantasy films, or Phillippe or Sam Riley or Eva Green, this is one to catch. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome