One Minute Review- Franklyn (2 out of 5)

Franklyn is the kind of labyrinth film that begs to be decoded but never quite reaches the point where it seems to be worth much thought. The film tells two parallel stories for little apparent reason other than that they both involve religion in some way and that first time writer/director Gerald McMorrow wanted to see what would happen if an angsty drama was intercut with scenes from Watchmen.

One of the stories takes place in the fictional place of Meanwhile City, which looks like George Orwell crossed with Alan Moore, requires that every inhabitant practice religion of some sort by law and is haunted by an atheist played by Ryan Phillippe, who apparently has the same fashion consultant as Rorschach.


The other story, which takes place in contemporary London and weaves together several stories including a man searching for his son, a man haunted by a former flame and a suicidal woman. All of this is directed with style and I'm sure there is meaning to be found in some of it, but by splitting the story down the middle neither side quite manages take-off. The Meanwhile City sequences are merely a distraction and add confusion to an already muddled plot that never seem to come around full circle to an acceptable explanation.