Directed by: Gerald McMorrow

Price: £15.99

Reviewed by: Fergus McShane

[ratings]

A remarkably bold and original debut feature, the likes of which hasn’t been seen coming out of Britain since Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

Franklyn follows four individual but somehow entwined characters as each is propelled towards an inexorable, fatal coming together. Switching between gritty London and the parallel Gothic metropolis of Meanwhile city, it is a unique, daring and expansive urban fairytale.

Some of the plot lines and ideas may not work on every intended level, but for sheer visual imagination and audacious ambition, McMorrow must be praised for Franklyn. The fragmented nature of the film means it could probably benefit from being split into two completely separate entities, but the quality of the worlds on display and the characters who inhabit each make this complaint a mere afterthought.

While the visual flair of this first-time director will be the reason many watch Franklyn, the real quality comes out in the characters. Each, tragically lost in their world, is complex and captivating, from the standout Bernard Hill to the fresher faces of Sam Riley and Eva Green.

Franklyn is a surprisingly accomplished, fantastical feature that merits multiple viewings. It may get a little convoluted at times, but it is definitely a tale you will happily get lost in.

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