I heard about this one through one of those lists of obscure movies you never heard of and I am so glad we watched it. I love this movie. The elements of science fiction with the robot appeal to my love of that genre. The human drama was touching and intriguing and left us guessing about Frank. The robot was a delightful character and lent so much to humorous situations that I laughed out loud repeatedly. I was invested,engaged and I laughed and even cried a little. This covers everything a good movie should do. What an entertainment treat.

Robot & Frank stars Frank Langella as a former burglar now living alone and suffering from Alzheimer. His son James Marsden makes regular long round trips to visit him. He buys him a robot to look after him and frankly so he can pop down less often.Frank is a bit of a rebel, he still does petty shoplifting and we also learn he did long stretches of a prison time. Still his resentment for the robot soon turns to affection when he realises that he can use the robot to plan his next big burglary job against a man who humiliated him.Frank has befriended a local librarian Susan Sarandon, who seems to be new to the town and seems to be attracted to Frank's rebellious streak. Frank's daughter Liv Tyler also pops down to see him but she resents the robot helper but that is because she spends so little time with Frank and feels guilty about it.The film is set in a near future setting with automation gathering pace. It is also a mini heist film as Frank comes alive planning the burglary job and figuring that his robot helper is invaluable.The film is also about memory, as Frank is invigorated, the Robot knows it has the incriminating evidence of the burglary on its hard drive as the cops close in.There is a twist in the film concerning Frank's relationship with Sarandon but I am not sure Alzheimer and it effects on long term memory works in the way it is depicted here.Robot & Frank is a small scale but charming film with a stellar performance from Langella. I have known for years his reputation as a Shakespearean stage actor but he has been rather wasted in celluloid. Here he gives a subtle performance and is matched by other actors as well as the robot.

In the near future, an aging thief with memory problems (Frank Langella) gets a robot assistant.Nice little movie, reminds me a little of the interaction between the man and the robot in "Moon".The robot's design is a bit distracting at first since it's pretty obvious that it's a (wo)man in a suit, which makes it pretty hard to suspend the disbelief. Still, it's a OK movie.Excellent score by Francis and the Lights. Good performance by Langella. Good voice acting by Peter Sarsgaard.The script could have been more interesting.

I have to say that the film's premise of an 'old guy and a robot' didn't really grab me. I preferred the all-out action of 'I Robot.' However, now I've watched it, I found I actually liked it.In the near future, our aging hero 'Frank' is given a robot to look after him by his family. Frank is naturally grumpy and the two don't really get along. If it was left as that, it probably would have been pretty dull. But, what brings the story to life is the fact that Frank is a habitual thief, so, with his newfound 'toy,' he decides to train it to help him pull of some jobs.There is some very dry humour in all this, plus you actually will care about the characters, even the robot, who comes across as 'more alive' than most daytime TV stars.It's certainly not an 'all-out action' epic. It's far more subtle, rolling along at a deliberately slow pace. So, you probably have to be in the mood for something a little more gentle to fully appreciate this.I now want my own robot. All I have is a 'Speak and Spell' from the eighties that doesn't work any more.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/