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List Price: $27.98 | | Label: Image Entertainment
Salesrank: 10962
Released: November 17, 2009 |
| Our Price: $16.22 |
| Used Price: $10.17 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Four souls bound by fate, romance and tragedy collide in the parallel worlds of London and the futuristic Meanwhile City, where a single bullet will alter the course of their lives forever. A masked detective, a self-destructive art student, a desperate father, and a lovelorn romantic are just a few of the unforgettable characters in this visually stunning fantasy thriller starring Eva Green (Casino Royale), Sam Riley (Control), Ryan Phillippe (Crash), Richard Coyle (Coupling), Bernard Hill (The Lord of the Rings), Art Malik (The Wolf Man), and Susannah York (Superman).
Franklyn Reviews:
Maybe there's more to be seen 
2009-12-10 - This is really a very cool movie. You have 3 separate stories happening in modern day London and adjoining stories in the 'elsewhen' city of "Meanwhile." It took me a while to get my footing, but as the stories progressed, it started to gel. There are some problems other reviewers have noted. Yes, the characters could have been written better. Yes, the London scenes could have used some punching up on the script side. But there are so many more positives here I will forgive its shortcomings.
The art direction is generally quite good (outstanding in the 'Meanwhile" scenes), and the costuming and music score are good as well. The religious based society in 'Meanwhile' is both funny and thought provoking. There is simply a wealth of stuff going on here. Yes, it could have been better but I'm as certain as I can be that repeated viewings will reveal many more subtleties in the connection between the two worlds.
I haven't figured out how to delegate a half star in this rating system but this is definitely a 3 and a half for me and further viewings might up that to a four. If you're at all a fan of the 'elsewhen' type films this is a must.
A pleasant surprise! 
2009-11-28 - This one was a bit of a surprise for me. I decided to see this movie on dvd based on its cover art and the actors who were in it, which is a terrible way of choosing a movie to see. But this turned out to be a really great, and enjoyable film, excellently crafted and executed from start to finish. The story of the film follows four different characters and their intertwining paths, Milo the emotionally shattered lover, Emilia who is turning her self destruction into an art form, and the middle aged Peter who is looking for his estranged son. All of these previous characters stories take place in a modern day London, the fourth one, Jonathan Preest, takes place in the surreal Meanwhile City. Preest is a vigilante/criminal in a city of absurd faiths and is haunted by his failure to protect a young a girl.
Its an all around solid movie, with great acting performances, interesting characters, a good story that does a good job of contrasting the Dark Fantasy elements with a cold hard reality, good costumes, sets, etc. Another thing I liked about this movie was that it borrows some themes from Terry Gilliam's work in the 80s with the power of imagination, fantasy, and escapism but it still cutting its own way with the main focus on the sadness and personal misery that ultimately leads these characters to cross paths with each other in one form or another. Its not a happy movie, but not as depressing as I might be making it out to be. Its certainly entertaining, interesting, and visually put together serenely. Highly recommended.
Visually Stunning
2009-11-02 - What a wonderfully original and unique viewing experience! Not only was Franklyn visually stunning but it was quite thought-provoking as well. After kicking back to watch the film, the wife and I chattered on about it for another good hour trying to sort through what we'd seen. And who we felt the characters represented.
If you're wondering what Franklyn is, a drama or fantasy, well its pretty much both in equal parts. It moves back and forth between Meanwhile City and modern-day London. Admittedly the London sequences, for me anyhow, really seemed to drag on as not one single character was remotely warm or likable. After each Meanwhile City segment ended, I found myself impatiently waiting for the next visit back to check on the progress of the faceless Preest, the hilarious religions and the amazing steampunk environment. Thankfully both London and Meanwhile City do end up converging but that's inevitable, the real question the film leaves you with is whether Meanwhile City was real and who brought the worlds, and characters, together.
Visually, this blew my mind. It was a little Blade Runner, The Crow, From Hell and The City of Lost Children, in other words it was absolutely beautiful; I can't even begin to imagine what writer/director McMorrow could do with a bigger budget. It's a shame none of the characters really popped but I found it still riveting how their lives all slowly began crossing paths from the first few minutes of the film down to the last. This was definitely weaved together with careful thought; let's just hope next time around McMorrow gives his characters a bit more soul.
What can I say? 
2009-10-24 - Based on the trailer you might be expecting a lot of action, a brilliant vigilante movie taking place between altering universes, and a unique twist like that of Dark City. But alas it doesn't live up to what you, a viewer, might expect based on the trailer.
Instead you get a drama with an unsatisfying twist you might or might not see coming. Personally, I saw the twist, but was hoping the twist that was there wouldn't be the twist.
I still enjoyed the film, it had some really nice cinematography, and very good acting, but it left me wanting for something more. I wanted it to be a scifi superhero film, and it did have a fair amount of action, the movie just wasn't executed the way I wanted it to be.
I know it sounds like I didn't really like the film, but I did. What it lacked for at the end it made up for with good dialogue, a fantastic score, some amazing shots, and really nice visual effects. I have a feeling this will become a cult classic, in the way that Donnie Darko did. Perhaps it will be the reverse of what happened with Donnie Darko, instead of this movie doing incredibly well in England, it will do incredibly well here.
I'll admit that I forgot to mention there was one twist that was rather unexpected, but I'll share that in the comments section.
very good underated film
2009-08-22 - I AM SUPRISE THAT SOME LAZY, NON TALENTED CRITICS DOWN SIZE THESE FILM. I BELIEVE THESE IS A VERY GOOD FILM WITH A STYLE. TRUTHFULLY THE TWIST ISN'T THAT MUCH OF A BIG TWIST BUT DESPITE THAT I THINK IT WAS WELL WRITTEN, WELL DIRECTED AND WELL ACTED. THE ACTORS WERE GOOD AND THE SCRIPT WAS TIGHT,THE ONLY THING IS THAT THE DIRECTOR WAS A LITTLE BIT LAZY IN THE ENDING, HE SHOULD HAVE LEFT SOME REVEALING PART AT THE END, BUT HE REVEALED THE MYSTERY TOO EARLY AT ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES TO THE END OF THE FILM. I WOULD HAVE PREFFERED HIM TO REVEAL THE WHOLE TWIST AT ABOUT MAYBE SEVEN TO THREE MINUTES.
I RECOMEND YOU WATCH THESE FILM, IT IS NOT TOO MUCH ACTION BUT IT IS WELL BALANCED.
