Frank (2014) Movie Script
Now these
words
what an...
An endless
endless...
Hmmm.
endless
endless rolling...
Waves
what do you carry to me?
Where will
you carry me to?
Children building
castles in the sand
in my town
children...
A band's playing
a band's playing
tomorrow night
in my town.
They're called the...
The Soron...
Ladies have babies
That's how it works.
Lady in the red coat,
what you doing with that bag?
Lady in the blue coat
do you know the lady
in the red coat?
Slowly!
Little boxes.
Little boxes
to take me away
from these little boxes.
- Hi, sweetheart.
- Oh.
Hi. Just in time. I
made a casserole.
Oh, er, no, thanks. I've
got an idea for a song.
- How was work?
- Yeah, it was good.
I... I've just...
Before I forget it.
Okay, idea for a song
in "a" minor,
possible title "suburbia."
I dream...
Of an angel...
down to "E" in the bass.
To take
Me away...
To "G."
take
Me away...
"C."
From these
little boxes...
Back to "a."
I dream
of an angel...
Up there.
to take...
Oh, hang on.
me away...
Oh fuck.
That's madness.
A fucking madness song.
Working hard...
...on songs all day.
Uh, but not Johnston or Harman.
Um, so how would you
describe the, er, Soron...
How would you
describe your music?
Thank you
for your inquiry, Anthony.
That's a pretty fucking
boring question.
That's being edgy, isn't it?
I would describe our
sound as fucking happy.
Clara, why don't you just let him speak?
Fuck you, Lucas!
- Cheese and ham panini.
- Let him speak!
There you go.
"Cheese and ham panini.
Livinthedream."
It's him.
Hello, sir.
Talk to you over here, sir.
Look what you've made me become!
I'm gonna do it!
I mean it.
This is your fault!
- This is all on you!
- Okay.
- Would you at least look at me?
- Get out of the water.
We were at this radio station.
He and Clara had a disagreement
or... I don't know,
I guess a physical fight.
This is all your fault!
You're the s...
You're playing tonight.
How?
Our keyboardist is trying
to drown himself.
Fuck off! I'm not just
fingers, you know.
I play keyboards.
She wanted this... she wanted
this from the start!
Oh no no, I wasn't...
That wasn't, uh... I...
Yeah yeah.
Red hair.
Okay.
Ahem.
You play "C," "F" and "G"?
- Yeah.
- You're in.
If you want to get wet - really?
That's it, get up!
Sir. So what should we do now?
Should we run through the songs?
Stage door,
9:00 P.M. tonight.
Uh, okay, let me give
you my number.
Is he gonna be okay?
He'll be fine.
He'll still need
to spend the night
in hospital though, right? He
swallowed a lot of seawater.
He'll have to have
his stomach pumped.
Hello?
In the soup
Ginger crouton
cover him in grease
Raw limby sausage
Bobbing poulet
salted joints
Tuna in brine
Deep dark swell anoints...
Undertow the broken Ford
Back to garage,
help him, lord...
Eels are jellied,
bloated belly
Scallops seared,
wrinkled skin
Comb the cockles
from his beard
Notify the next of kin
Push the baby, cut the cord
Spread the feast
upon the board...
Coming out, emerging...
What happened?
You just stopped playing.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Just stop fucking playing!?
Bullshit!
There. The backup is bullshit!
Fucking bullshit!
It's okay, come on.
Come on.
Start up the car.
Hello. So Lucas has
been sectioned
and we need a new
keyboard player.
And Frank said, you know, "remember
that grateful-looking boy
who jumped on the stage
last week uninvited?"
I wasn't uninvited.
- Hello?
- So Frank said that he thought you brought
something cherishable
that night.
But he can sound really muffled
under the head so...
I thought he said
that you brought
something perishable.
You know, like food
that decays easily,
- like fish or fruit.
- Mm-hmm.
So I said,
"come on, man,
anybody can do that."
So anyways, we're doing
this really major thing
over in Ireland.
Are you in?
- Yes.
- Clacket Lane services, m25, 5:00 P.M. today.
"You would not believe
what's happening
to me right now."
"Throughthelookingglass."
Hello!
I wasn't sure where to wait.
Clacket Lane's pretty
labyrinthine, isn't it?
I was gonna stand by the... the
bank of Scotland Cashline...
You know, next to the R.A.C.
Membership stall there...
But, er... you know, I thought I'd
be more visible on the approach.
So I just decided
to come straight...
Hello. Oh.
Frank, scoot over.
Hi. Hi, everybody.
Hi. I was just
saying to don that
I didn't know where to stand 'cause I thought
that you might not see me, so, um...
- I have a certificate.
- This way, please.
It's an official
medical document.
Certificate. You'll note
the official stamp.
It's all legal and above board.
So, uh, what do you
think of Frank?
- Light me.
- Um...
Fucking amazing, isn't he?
Frank, you're on fire.
- He lives all the way out there, man.
- I'm on fire.
- I'm on fire.
- On the furthest corners.
Fuck, I wanna be Frank.
- Don?
- Yeah.
The head. It smells
like sausages.
- He never takes it off.
- Never?
- No, never.
- He sleeps in it?
- Yep.
- What about eating?
He sucks liquid food
through a straw
that he funnels up
under the neckline.
Occasionally solids,
but it's not encouraged.
- What kind of liquid food?
- Grownut.
- It's like a supplement.
- He must have a very bushy beard.
- Not necessarily.
- How does he clean his teeth?
Look, Jon, you're just
gonna have to go with this.
Okay.
Sorry, it's just...
- It's pretty crazy, isn't it?
- No, I know, I know.
I understand.
I understand.
But let me tell you something...
Frank, with all his issues,
is without a doubt the most
100%- sanest cat I've ever met.
Okay.
Me, on the other hand...
Well, you seem
pretty sane to me.
Yeah!
But, no no,
I spent a lot of time
in a psychiatric hospital.
I was labeled
as severely mentally ill.
I used to fuck mannequins.
- Right.
- It's a condition.
Here we go.
Welcome to Ireland.
Please remember...
Wakey-wakey,
eggs and bakey.
And everybody out.
Welcome to Vetno...
Our new home.
Don?
- Don!
- All right.
You like?-
- impulse response.
- Okay, people.
- Excuse me.
- Nana, Baraque...
How long will we be
staying here for?
...rhythm section shall be
housed in here. Ah, bunks.
It is.
Frank. The master
bedroom for you.
Had it customized
for all your requirements.
These will be the
bathing accommodations.
We will have many
productive seasons here.
And, Clara, your living quarters.
Don!
Nice panoramic view
of the lake here.
And, Jon, you and I
are just through here.
- Don.
- Yeah, buddy?
Don, sorry, I, uh...
I actually told work
that I'd be back on Monday.
Uh, so I was just wondering...
Why the fuck would you do that?
Well, I thought it was
just a gig, you know.
So I've only brought one
pair of pants and a t-shirt.
This is where I'll be staying,
right here in the green trailer.
So if you need anything
at night... you know,
sugar, milk...
If you freak out,
you just come a-knocking.
Come on, chop chop.
- That's alpine cedar... nice.
- Don!
- Yeah?
- How long are we staying here?
Just as long as it takes
to record the album, Jon.
"Vetno, Ireland.
After several days of what
Frank calls 'fieldwork, '
rehearsals proper
have begun."
"I'm settling in to my new life
and gradually getting to know
my fellow band members."
Wow, this is beautiful.
What do you call it?
Stay away from
my fucking theremin.
"A few teething problems,
as you would expect.
- But beginning to feel like one of the gang."
- Hey.
Mm-hmm.
"At vetno, there's already
a palpable sense
of free expression,
and I can't wait to dive
into the creative maelstrom."
Okay, everybody, next time
round go to "G" minor,
okay?
One two three four!
Fucking major, major!
"But of course,
I shall have to earn
my place in the band."
- Whoo whoo!
- "At the heart of it all
is Frank."
"How to describe Frank?
Mostly he seems friendly,
though sometimes
a little intense."
- Stop!
- It will be worth it!
"He can hide himself away
for days at a time.
What goes on
inside that head..."
- Jackpot!
- "...Inside that head?"
Yes!
It's like an aviary.
Your birds rock.
You're a cormorant.
Nana...
Moorhen.
Clara, the owl...
Night hunter, silent killer.
What have we got here?
Lay an egg for me,
little ginger bird.
Lay an egg!
"Frank says he must push us
- to our furthest corners..."
- Lay an egg with me.
"...and unlock the great music
that hides there."
- Get down there. Squat!
- Uh...
- Er, okay.
- Go on, lay an egg.
Get that egg out.
Squeeze that egg out.
"It can feel a little
overwhelming at times."
It has no business in there.
"But all in all, I am happy
to be a part of this."
"Just happy."
- I don't wanna be me!
- Go back inside!
- I don't wanna be me!
- Please, come with me back.
- Come on.
- Frank, just let me go!
- Please, don!
- I don't wanna live!
Don't let him get to the lake!
- Uh...
- Don't let him get to the lake!
- I'm free, I'm free!
- Please, don!
I'm free!
Wait wait, don.
- Oh.
- Don, don't get up.
I don't wanna be me.
Did he tell you
about the mannequins?
Yeah.
I met one once.
Caroline Cuntley.
- I'm Frank.
- I'm Jon.
Does he still...?
No.
He has relationships
with real women now.
But it's hard, you know.
He has to convince them
to lie completely still,
so, you know.
Hey, don't tell don I...
I said anything.
- No.
- He might think it a shameful secret.
I say tell everyone everything.
Why cover anything up?
Right?
Can I ask you something?
Sure.
Why do you wear that?
You think it's weird?
- Kinda.
- Normal faces are weird too,
you know,
the way they're smooth,
smooth, smooth...
And then blech!
You know?
All bumpy and holes.
I mean, what are eyes like?
It's like
a science-fiction movie.
Don't get me started on lips.
- Like the edges of a very serious wound.
- That's true!
But your head is still
sort of intimidating.
Well, underneath I'm giving
you a welcoming smile.
Would it help if I said my
facial expressions out loud?
Well, maybe.
Welcoming smile.
Frank?
You've been up all night talking
to the keyboard player?
I'm not just a keyboard player.
I write songs too. You
write your own songs?
Mm-hmm.
I'd love to play some
for you sometime.
I'd really like that.
Big non-threatening grin.
- Delighted look.
- Here, play one now.
- You're funny.
- Play one now.
- Excellent.
- Um, not... not right now.
- Okay?
- No no.
- I'd love to hear one of your songs.
- I would too.
- Go on.
- I... I don't think so, guys.
Please!
Hey, guys, Jon...
He writes his own music.
He's gonna play
some music for us.
I...
Come on.
- Clara.
- Share your music with us, Jon.
- Um...
- Play something!
Okay.
But I haven't
warmed up my hands.
Um, okay, um...
That's just... that's
a warm-up.
Um...
I've got one...
I've got one that's like...
I was walking down
the street one day
Thinking about
the lady I love
When a guy comes down
And says,
"what do you do?"
No, that's not... I haven't
finished that one.
I've got a kind of a rocky one.
LA-LA...
Lady in the red coat,
what you doing with that bag?
I've only... fuck, you know when
you've just got so many songs
and then just none of them'll
fucking come out?
Oh no, I've got one.
I've got one.
There's one which is like, um...
That's yours.
Don!
Hey, buddy.
- Oh, man.
- How are you feeling?
Better.
He's gonna need a chiropractor.
You bummed out?
- Little bit.
- Why?
I don't think I've ever
been able to find my...
Core song-writing themes.
- You know?
- You can write a song about anything.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Hey. Like your socks here.
They're pretty original.
Hey, look at this.
This little tuft in the carpet.
I wonder how old he is
in carpet years?
Is it spring? Mmm.
He's the first to wake?
Or... is he old,
but still strong enough
to keep what winter
wants to take?
Lone standing tuft
Defies the foot
Is it luck that
you're still standing?
You've not been
flattened, too
Do you tremble beneath
the gentle breeze
That's displaced
by my shoe?
Lone standing tuft.
- It's silly.
- Frank.
That's amazing.
Flattered grin, followed
by a bashful half-smile.
No, people should
know about you.
You should be famous.
You understand.
- I understand what?
- Understand that there are
people out there
that might like our music.
Sometimes I think Clara
doesn't care if people
like us or not.
- Really?
- It's weird.
It's really weird.
- What is this?
- Potato.
And what is this?
Stew.
You should go home.
Frank picked me, okay?
So it's not up to you.
- Excuse me?
- He said I was cherishable,
and he picked me
to join the band.
You are fingers being told
which keys to push.
- I push my own keys.
- 10 little bits
of bone and skin.
And I'm perfectly capable
of going to my furthest corners
and composing music.
- Your furthest corners?
- My furthest corners.
Someone needs to punch you
in the face.
Lips pursed together
as if to say
"enough frivolity."
Today...
We begin work
on the album in earnest.
"Frank wants us to start
- everything from scratch."
- Note the color-coding.
"He's created an entirely
new musical notation system."
...the entire universe,
like tiny little galaxies...
"We've designed
our own instruments."
"He has initiated
a strict regime
of physical exercise."
Oh, for fuck's sake!
"Fortunately, we have
a safe word for when
- things get too intense."
- Chinchilla, chinchilla!
"Chinchilla."
Chinchilla, chinchilla!
"It's incredible.
Frank finds inspiration
in everything."
- I find this inspiring.
- "How does he do this?
If I'm to grow as an artist,
I must see as he sees."
We could make an entire album
out of this one sound.
"I dedicate myself
to learning his secret
and I will not let anybody
get in my way,
however desperately
they may try."
Somebody's thinking in the
key of "C." Oh, it's me!
Oh, fuck!
Chinchilla.
- Keep going!
- Okay.
- Keep going!
- "I am more convinced than ever
that this band,
whether they realize it or not,
could achieve greatness.
And I will work to take my place
at its very heart."
"I will show them
what I am capable of.
I will show them."
- Hey.
- Psst!
Hey, man, what are you doing?
I'm composing a song.
Oh, right.
Mmm.
Yeah, man.
I know.
- What?
- I know what it feels like
to try and write a song
and it just comes out shit.
Here, let me hop in the saddle.
Here's a little
love song I wrote
a long long long time ago.
The stillness
Of the winter night
The frozen water's
Icy skin
Is broken by
the boatman's oar
Be still and let me in
Oh, let me in
oh, let me in
But stay still.
There, see?
Shit too.
But look, Jon,
sooner or later you're
gonna get the feeling,
"why can't I be Frank?"
Or "maybe I can be Frank."
But, Jon, there can
only be one Frank.
One.
Actually, don,
I think both our songs
were excellent.
Yeah.
Right? Come on,
let's go for a walk.
Yeah, I've known
Frank was special
since the moment
I first saw him.
This nurse was trying
to wrestle his head off.
I mean, the guy must
have weighed 300 lbs.
Frank was freaking out so
hard, he just backed off.
- A mental hospital?
- Mmm.
Have you ever seen him
without the head?
God, no.
Maybe he's facially disfigured,
forced to wear a mask
like the elephant man.
Hmm. All I know is that
he told me once
he was from Kansas...
Bluff, Kansas.
Bluff, Kansas.
Sounds dark.
'Cuzzi?
Naw.
Get back to work.
Miserable childhood,
mental illness...
Where do I find
that kind of inspiration?
Congratulations.
You've made the first step
towards releasing
your creativity in a way
that will change
every aspect of your life.
Take everyday activities
like shaving.
As Edward DE Bono once said,
how often does someone
using a traditional wet razor
stop to consider whether
instead of moving the razor,
it might be easier
to keep the razor still
and simply move the face?
What is that?
I think it's called
"the idiot shriek."
- Such pain.
- Hey.
- Such emptiness.
- Hey!
Shit!
What?!
Easy, don.
Start again...
From the beginning.
Patient smile.
Stop saying your facial
expressions out loud.
- It's extremely annoying.
- Sorry.
We've run out of time.
We've spent all
of our rent money
and the landlord gave us
30 days' notice to leave.
And we didn't leave,
so now they've rented vetno to
a family of holidaymakers...
Who are right over there.
Why didn't you tell us?
I didn't wanna disappoint you.
- I know.
- I can pay.
- What?
- When my grandfather died,
I inherited money.
He said it was my nest egg.
He said I should only ever spend my
nest egg on something really important.
I want you guys
to have my nest egg.
Oh, Jon.
Thank you.
Oh, ginger bird.
It'll buy us enough time
to make the album.
Shit. What do
we do about them?
Fucking crazy lady.
"It's been a long time
since I've written anything."
"We've been working
on the new music
for 14 hours a day for...
11 months now."
"It has not been easy."
Again.
"None of us has left vetno
since we got here."
Again.
"Frank refuses
to record the album
until we have perfected
each and every detail.
- He can be pitiless."
- Again!
Oh.
Merge!
"My nest egg has been depleted
a lot more
than I anticipated."
Come!
"We've had to start
rationing the food."
Thanks.
Fuck off.
"And on top of all this,
Clara's hatred of me..."
- Thief!
- "...Remains as strong
and as baffling as ever."
- I want it back. I want it all back.
- No!
Those are my
keyboard-playing fingers.
"I'll admit there
have been times
when I've considered
leaving vetno,
- but I'm still here."
- Morning.
- Hey.
- "And I am glad when I see
how many of you continue
to join me on this journey.
You know, despite all the
hardships I've suffered here..."
Just took a shit.
"...something inside me
is beginning to stir.
I've come to realize that this
is my bluff, Kansas,
that here in vetno
I have found
my abusive childhood..."
"...my mental hospital...
That which pushes me..."
- Oh God.
- "...To my furthest corners."
This is really good.
Frank. Frank, I've...
Get right in there.
Dog-leg left,
527 yards
to the center of the green.
Nobody hits a ball like that.
Get in the hole!
You're the man.
Oh. Oh, um...
I've written a song.
And it goes up.
Yeah.
Amazing.
Really?
- Yeah.
- You really think so?
Oh, that means the world
to me, thank you so much.
- Do you mind?
- Please.
- Okay, so pare that down.
- Mm-hmm.
Now go up a half.
Go up a whole.
- Mmm.
- Now go back down.
Oh, I see, yeah.
That's fantastic.
Uh-huh.
- That's excellent.
- Here.
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- Right?
- Yeah, right.
- 'Cause what were you playing before?
- That was like an "F."
- "F" yeah.
You play "F" there,
that'd be shit.
- Yeah, let's make that stomp a bit more.
- Okay.
Through the portals...
Vetno tapes, take one.
Comet tail
Screeching infrequencies
of pulsing infinities
Awake in the hive
where the sap is collected,
the process perfected
The galactic siren
sounds...
Down the dimensions
Of curled-up strings
inside the point
Get out the path
of the king!
Mr. Laurel
Get out the path of the king!
Mr. Hardy
Regret, get out the path
of the king!
They will not be able
to attend tonight's dinner
the supernova outshone
get out the path
of the king!
Yeah!
Saddle up...
Secure the galactic
perimeter
Weak and strong
nuclear bonds...
Whoo-hoo!
Stab it, stab it, stab it.
Now what's together
will soon come apart
when it's all over
Go back to the start...
Don?
We're done.
Hop to it! Oh, shite!
Over here!
Frank!
Get the rope off!
Bye, don.
You were the best
keyboard player we ever had.
The best man I ever knew.
Don used to be
the keyboard player?
First it was don,
then it was Lucas.
Now it's you.
Jon, what the fuck
are you doing?
It's what don would want.
So you've been posting
videos of us online?
That's not the point.
Because of those clips
we've been offered a really
fucking important gig.
You've been spying on us.
South by southwest.
In Texas.
It's very prestigious.
- They've got a new discoveries strand...
- That's ridiculous.
Come on, Frank.
Let's get you cleaned up.
Why does it say
"two-three-
seven-five-one"
at the bottom?
That's the number of people
who've watched the clip.
Two-three-
seven-five-one people
are interested in us?
Come on, Frank.
It's like magic.
I told you we could be big.
Can't see anything
in this fucking...
Ah!... fucking place.
What game are you playing?
Filling Frank's head
with these bullshit ideas.
I can't hear you over
the sound of the bubbles.
Fuck! How the fuck
do these fucking...
You've just pressed
the full-bubble-strength button.
They're on a timer.
You've just restarted.
- They... they won't stop...
- Leave Frank alone.
I know you want me to end up
like don or Lucas,
but that's not gonna be
my role in this band.
You are a mediocre child.
- Excuse me?!
- You're an infection.
You're like Joseph...
You keep him locked up like...
You're bindweed,
chickweed, pit tramp,
- abscess, absence, vacuum.
- ... Josef...
- What's his fucking name?!... Josef Fritzl!
- Middle management!
Cunt!
Oh, fucking hell!
Oh, fucking hell!
Oh oh God!
Ow ow!
Ow ow ow, oh fuck!
I'm fucking dying.
This is gonna be awkward.
What is?
Us, you know...
Together.
We will never be together.
Oh.
I find you...
Disgusting.
Mmm.
- Disgusting!
- Yeah, okay.
I get the point.
Clara.
What does he look like?
I don't know.
Was it awful in
the mental hospital, Clara?
- How should I know?
- I assumed you were mentally ill.
- You did?
- Mm-hmm.
Oh.
So why are you so against us
finding an audience then,
if it's not because
you're mentally ill?
You're in love with Frank.
You love him and you're scared
that if other people love him,
- you'll lose him.
- And one day I'll take off my glasses,
and he'll really see me.
And we'll do big kisses.
That's really how you think?
Don't presume to tell me
how I think.
If you fuck everything up
in America,
I'll stab you.
It's just like
"Paris, Texas," isn't it?
It's definitely...
What you looking for?
Don.
Hey, don?
Hey, partner.
I remember you saying
that the desert here
was your favorite place
in the whole world...
After SeaWorld, San Diego.
I know you were homesick, don.
I know there were times
when you wanted
to come back here,
but you didn't because of me.
Well, you're home now, don.
I promise those
sacrifices you made
won't be in vain.
Jon has foretold of a night
some nights from now when,
thanks to a secret camera,
legions and multitudes
of already adoring fans
shall gather
and-and they shall
receive our music
- in rapture.
- Okay.
- Oh!
- It's grownut.
Frank, it's grownut.
All right, don.
- Let's feed the desert with you anyway.
- Oh, don.
It's fucking grownut!
- Looking good!
- Don't touch me.
- Awesome costume, guy.
- Oh, thank you.
Thank you. We're
playing the sunshine
day after tomorrow.
Frank!
- Hello.
- Something tells me that
you guys are the Soronprfbs.
- That's us.
- You're Jon.
- Yes, hi.
- So here are the festival passes.
And an information pack
and did Simone
pronounce your name right?
- Jon.
- No, the band's name.
Oh, actually I don't know.
Clara, how do we pronounce
the band's name?
- Ask him.
- Listen, are you guys hungry?
Uh, yeah.
- Because we were gonna go get something to eat.
It's the best pancake house
in town.
There's open Mike.
It's gonna be awesome.
Awesome.
Awesome.
I sit in Tracy's bedroom
with my knee-socks
and Chelsea's beanie
Talking boyfriends
Tongues and weenies...
You guys have been
in the forest so long,
all this craziness has to be
kind of overwhelming, I guess.
No, we're cool
with that, you know.
I'm delighted to be
launching our album here.
Delighted look, you know.
This is the most...
Unique...
And exciting opportunity
you've given us
to finally play in front of people who
actually know and love us, you know.
Until now, our audiences
tend to be people who...
Who chance upon us,
and realize after a few minutes
- they don't like us.
- Frank!
Actually, I gotta tell you guys.
I mean, we know who you are.
Simone and me, we found you, but the
audience won't have heard of you yet.
They do not know and love us.
But more than 23,700 people
watched us on YouTube.
Oh, 23,000 hits
on YouTube is nothing.
They do not know us. Yeah,
those kind of views,
maybe one or two people
in the room will know you.
Maybe nobody. Half a million, that's
when you're onto something big.
We fucked it up. Okay, but
they're cool though, right?
- I mean they'll like us.
- They'll love you.
Jon, Jon?
"Recent revelations have
raised serious questions
in the band about the reception
we can look forward to
at new discoveries."
Lick my ass!
"A hastily arranged warm-up
gig earlier this evening..."
"...did nothing
to steady the ship.
Luckily, I am no longer
the man I was a year ago.
Now, in crisis,
I see creative possibility.
It turns out, I may be
closer to the zeitgeist
than certain people
gave me credit for.
I am ready to make
my mark on this band."
So you want us
to change our sound?
Look, we've always demanded that
the audience stretch their corners
all the way out to meet ours.
But what if, Frank...
What if we pull our corners back
a little bit?
Just a tiny tiny bit
and then everyone's corners can
meet in a place that's still
a really long way off.
But it's just a bit less...
You know?
And a bit more likeable.
- But not in a bad way.
- I'm not playing the fucking ukulele.
Frank...
I'm writing my most
likeable song ever.
I've always dreamed that one day
I'd have a band member
who shared my vision
of creating
extremely likeable music.
So thank you, Jon.
You gave me the
little push I needed.
- Yeah.
- Okay, enough chatter.
Here it is!
My most likeable song...
Ever.
Coca-Cola,
lipstick, Ringo
Dance all night,
dance all night
I've got dancing legs, whoo
I've got dancing legs
They won't stop me dancing,
no, they won't stop me dancing
Kiss me, just kiss me
Kiss me, Nefertiti
Just the way you like it
Just the way you like it,
kiss me, kiss me
Lipstick kiss me,
lipstick Ringo
That's the way
you like it!
Uh...
This is your most
likeable song ever?
Yeah!
- People will love it.
- Actually...
Actually, Frank,
I think that we could
push the likeability
even further.
No way!
You're shitting me.
How?
Can I just...
Um, where did you start?
But what if... I don't know,
we regulate it a bit more?
I love it!
- Yeah? And then maybe, you know, um...
- I love it.
If we played an "F" down here,
that would be good, wouldn't it?
You should be famous!
That's so likeable!
Jon fixed it!
I'm officially here.
Check me.
Hello.
Sorry.
Thanks.
- We're igniting the light and letting it shine.
We're igniting the light
and letting it shine.
- We're igniting the light and letting it...
- Hi.
Hey hi, can I get
a quick word with you?
We were in the forest
like secret squirrels.
Now we're likeable.
We're... we're so...
It's gonna be huge.
Jon fixed everything.
- You gotta come see us tomorrow night.
- Great!
- I promise nothing bad'll happen to you.
- Thank you so much.
- Let's go take a walk.
- I'm incredibly happy to be here.
- I'm fine, I'm relaxed!
- Great.
You know, forgive me
for my problems formerly.
The people were liking it.
The weight.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
I'm totally relaxed.
I'm... I'm fine,
I'm perfectly fine.
Frank's not okay. What
are you talking about?
I need your help
to get him out of here.
He said he's perfectly fine,
- relaxed.
- I need your help to get him out of here.
He looks happy to me.
- Whereas you seem...
- I seem what?
...not in control.
Frank?
Frank?
Have you seen a man
wearing a fake head?
No?
Sorry, have you seen a man
wearing a fake head?
- Yeah, a great big head?
- Yeah.
Yeah, he and a lady
went around the corner.
Frank, Frank!
Frank!
Frank? Oh, can you
feel my breath?
Frank.
What the fuck are you doing?
Breathe, breathe.
It's okay, it's okay.
Shh, it's okay.
Do you want to come back
to the hotel, Frank?
It's warm there.
Don't listen to her.
She's the one who's nuts.
Not you. Tomorrow
night is everything
we've worked for.
They're ready to love us.
Can you feel my breath?
They're ready
to love you, Frank.
Don't throw that away.
Frank, stay with me.
Oh, thank God.
Come on.
I'm sorry.
You a little sad?
Yes, Jon, I'm a little bit sad.
Oh no!
- Chinchilla.
- Chinchil... ow!
- Fuck!
- Frank, he's fucking crazy.
- Oh, she stabbed me in the fucking leg!
- Frank!
- Get off me. Frank!
- Hey, put the knife down.
- Who the fuck are you?
- "Clara Wagner,
our very own Syd Barrett,
was arrested today
and charged with assault
after stabbing me in the leg.
See link."
"We will all miss Clara
and sincerely hope
our own crazy diamond
will also shine on."
Nana, open up.
Baraque!
Is he here?
How is he?
He's dead?!
Asleep.
He's sick.
No no, he's...
He's just tired.
He'll be all right for tonight.
Not Frank, you.
Sorry?
I've known this since
the first time I saw him
on that beach.
He would have drowned Lucas
to take his place in the band.
- No, I wouldn't have.
- 'Cause when he looks inside himself,
he can't find anything there.
- Yes, I can!
- So his only hope
is to live off of your
talent like a tick.
- Sorry?
- Which is why he had to get rid of Clara.
Clara chose to stab me.
We're not playing without Clara.
What are you talking about? We've
got the biggest gig of our lives
coming up in three hours. The stabbing
could not have come at a better time.
Frank, I've had everyone at South
by southwest on the phone.
Baraque and I have packed our things.
We're leaving.
No, you can't leave.
We've had 767,328 hits.
Frank, say something.
- 767,918! They're all watching.
- Frank?
So many people.
See?
So many people.
Don't f... oh!
Good luck playing
tonight without a band.
I've got one word for you:
Unplugged!
Me on guitar, you on vocals.
Delegates really like it when bands
go unplugged... special thing.
- How's your leg?
- Oh, it'll be okay.
We set everything up
like you guys asked.
- Are you sure you want to go ahead?
- Oh, absolutely.
Igniting the light
and letting it shine.
Frank, are you okay?
Uh-huh! Ooh, if I was you
guys, I'd be so nervous.
Oh, it goes with the territory.
Yeah, but I mean playing
without your band
after what just happened?
Shit, man, I would be nervous.
Well, it's not like we don't
know the songs or anything.
With that many people,
I would be shitting myself.
- Would you please shut your mouth?
- I'm just saying...
Igniting the light
and letting it shine.
- Where are you going?
- To do my ablutions.
That's not the toilet.
Just... be as quick
as you can.
- 30 seconds!
- Frank.
Frank!
Let's fuck.
Just wait here
for a few seconds, okay?
Mm-hmm.
Hey!
Hey, don't... fuck.
Wait out here.
Whoo!
Hello.
Prepare for rapture!
Whoo!
Whoo yeah!
Hello, South by southwest!
Whoo!
It's been a crazy 24 hours,
but we're still here
and we're still the Soronprfbs!
Unplugged.
Chinchilla!
Chinchilla!
- Yeah!
- Okay, here's a little song I wrote.
I hope you like it.
This is the best day of my life.
LA LA LA-LA LA
LA LA LA-LA LA...
Come on, Frank.
LA LA LA-LA LA...
Fuck.
Fuck. Frank!
Frank, Frank!
What is it, Frank?
Frank, come on!
- What is it?
- M-music's shit.
The music is shit.
...demonstrate how
this mop with its revolu...
...biotech people
making money...
...Cleveland, Ohio band,
the gentile youth,
had all of Austin
talking last night
as they played a barnstorming
set at South by southwest.
Aren't we supposed to be
playing at South by southwest?
Frank.
I know you weren't happy
with the music...
So let's work on it together.
Why not?
You're not Clara.
The motel owner says if we haven't
paid in full by the end of the week,
they're throwing us out.
Fuck's sake!
Oh, excuse me for a second.
- Fuck.
- It's all right.
It's all right.
Here.
- Here.
- Just leave it.
Oh, you stink!
I made it.
Now will you use it?!
Take it off.
The head.
Maybe you should take it off.
I mean...
In cognitive
behavioral therapy they say
face your fears.
They say take the head off.
So let's do it.
- Let's take the fucking head off.
- I have a certificate!
I know you have a certificate.
I know you've got
a motherfucking certificate!
Just take it off!
Take it off!
Fucking hell.
Oh no, it's all right!
Frank!
Frank! Oh.
Frank, I'm sorry!
Come back!
Oh!
Where did he go?
That way.
- Was he injured?
- He was limping.
Did you see his face?
Yeah hello, you want
to report a missing person?
- Yes.
- Name?
- Frank.
- Frank what?
Just Frank.
- Age?
- Somewhere between...
30 and...
50?
And what does
this person look like?
Driving me crazy,
but I know who you are.
- Hmm?
- You're the chinchilla guy, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- Awesome!
And then, what, there's the
dude with the big head
and the crazy chick...
Uh... Clara, right?
Dude, you guys are
like total myths.
I mean there's fucking footage
of you everywhere online.
...chinchilla guy!
...chinchilla guy!
- Chinchilla guy.
- Oi, chinchilla guy!
See? I mean, all the footage...
You're all totally erratic and shit,
nervous breakdowns,
"chinchilla!"
People rolling around
on the floor.
I mean, just wayward stuff, man.
And now it's all like,
"what happened to Frank?"
It's like he just vanished.
I mean...
- Fucking hilarious.
- I don't think it's hilarious.
Really?
I thought it was supposed
to be hilarious.
- It's...
- But I mean, Clara and Frank, man.
Come on, they're like...
Total freaks.
On top of
old smokey
All covered
With snow
I lost my poor lover
By courting
Too slow.
How did you find us?
Uh, I saw...
Everything you said
was true, Nana.
I ruined everything.
I'm sorry.
So sorry.
Frank ran away.
I don't know if...
I was hoping you might
know where he is.
Ain't nobody here
wears no fake head.
Okay.
Bluff, Kansas.
Be careful.
Hi.
Frank?
Frank, I'm so ashamed.
I should never have tried
to pull your head off.
- I don't know...
- I'm the tree surgeon.
I'm just... I'm just here
to look at the tree.
Can I help you?
I've been very worried
about you.
I just wanted to find you to...
Make sure you're okay.
How are things without the head?
He had such a beautiful face,
lovely skin.
The head was my fault.
I made him his first one.
He was 14.
Said it was for a costume party.
I did it even though I knew
there wasn't any costume party.
It turns out the worst thing
to do with something like that
is to pander to it.
Who knew?
What happened to Frank?
Something must have happened
to him to make him like that.
Nothing happened to him.
He's got a mental illness.
The torment he went through
to make the great music.
The torment didn't
make the music.
He was always musical. If
anything, it slowed him down.
It was a good home.
It's just like my home.
I have to go now, Frank.
You all right?
Yeah.
I know I ruined everything.
I'm sorry.
It's good you're still playing.
I'm not.
I try, but...
It doesn't come out good.
I want to marry
A lighthouse keeper
And keep him
Company
I want to marry
A lighthouse keeper
And live
By the side of the sea
we'll have parties
On a moonlit isle
And clam-bakes
On a coral reef
We'll invite everybody in
and seagulls
By the score
I wanna marry
A lighthouse keeper
I'll Polish his lamps
By the light of the day
...marry
a lighthouse keeper...
It's really nice...
Nice to see you.
It's nice to be here.
El Madrid.
I love your wall.
The washrooms smell.
They could be cleaner.
Put your arms around me.
Fiddly digits.
Itchy britches.
Stale beer
Fat fucked, smoked out
Cowpoked
Sequined Mountain ladies
I love your wall
Put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all
Washrooms smell,
they could be cleaner
Stench of cigarettes
and stale urea
I love you all
Prodigal son wants to return
To where the dogs play pool
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all...
Stale beer, fat fucked,
cowpoked, smoked out
sequined Mountain ladies
I love you all
Put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all...
El Madrid,
it's nice to see you
it's really nice to be here
I love your wall
stale beer, fat fucked
smoked out, cowpoked
sequined Mountain ladies
I love your wall
put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
you all
washrooms smell,
they could be cleaner
stench of cigarettes
and stale urea
I love you all
prodigal son waits to return
to where the gods play pool
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
you all.
Banjaxed and broken
smashed up in bits
that is the only way
everything fits
all held together
spitballs and string
splinters of wood
on a bird's broken wing
now what's together
will soon come apart
when it's all over
go back to the start
now what's together
will soon grow apart
when it's all over
go back to the start.
Lonely little carpet tuft,
a twisted woolly Joshua tree
surrounded by
its fallen friends
alone in threadbare
woven field
lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
what age are you
in carpet years?
Is it spring and you're
the first to wake?
Or are you old
but still strong enough
to keep what winter
wants to take?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
is it luck that
you're still standing
and you've not been
flattened, too?
Do you tremble
in the little wind
that's squeezed out
by my shoe?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
has your tuftiness mutated so
your strands are made of steel?
Is it sheer determination
you'll never bend
beneath the heel?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot.
words
what an...
An endless
endless...
Hmmm.
endless
endless rolling...
Waves
what do you carry to me?
Where will
you carry me to?
Children building
castles in the sand
in my town
children...
A band's playing
a band's playing
tomorrow night
in my town.
They're called the...
The Soron...
Ladies have babies
That's how it works.
Lady in the red coat,
what you doing with that bag?
Lady in the blue coat
do you know the lady
in the red coat?
Slowly!
Little boxes.
Little boxes
to take me away
from these little boxes.
- Hi, sweetheart.
- Oh.
Hi. Just in time. I
made a casserole.
Oh, er, no, thanks. I've
got an idea for a song.
- How was work?
- Yeah, it was good.
I... I've just...
Before I forget it.
Okay, idea for a song
in "a" minor,
possible title "suburbia."
I dream...
Of an angel...
down to "E" in the bass.
To take
Me away...
To "G."
take
Me away...
"C."
From these
little boxes...
Back to "a."
I dream
of an angel...
Up there.
to take...
Oh, hang on.
me away...
Oh fuck.
That's madness.
A fucking madness song.
Working hard...
...on songs all day.
Uh, but not Johnston or Harman.
Um, so how would you
describe the, er, Soron...
How would you
describe your music?
Thank you
for your inquiry, Anthony.
That's a pretty fucking
boring question.
That's being edgy, isn't it?
I would describe our
sound as fucking happy.
Clara, why don't you just let him speak?
Fuck you, Lucas!
- Cheese and ham panini.
- Let him speak!
There you go.
"Cheese and ham panini.
Livinthedream."
It's him.
Hello, sir.
Talk to you over here, sir.
Look what you've made me become!
I'm gonna do it!
I mean it.
This is your fault!
- This is all on you!
- Okay.
- Would you at least look at me?
- Get out of the water.
We were at this radio station.
He and Clara had a disagreement
or... I don't know,
I guess a physical fight.
This is all your fault!
You're the s...
You're playing tonight.
How?
Our keyboardist is trying
to drown himself.
Fuck off! I'm not just
fingers, you know.
I play keyboards.
She wanted this... she wanted
this from the start!
Oh no no, I wasn't...
That wasn't, uh... I...
Yeah yeah.
Red hair.
Okay.
Ahem.
You play "C," "F" and "G"?
- Yeah.
- You're in.
If you want to get wet - really?
That's it, get up!
Sir. So what should we do now?
Should we run through the songs?
Stage door,
9:00 P.M. tonight.
Uh, okay, let me give
you my number.
Is he gonna be okay?
He'll be fine.
He'll still need
to spend the night
in hospital though, right? He
swallowed a lot of seawater.
He'll have to have
his stomach pumped.
Hello?
In the soup
Ginger crouton
cover him in grease
Raw limby sausage
Bobbing poulet
salted joints
Tuna in brine
Deep dark swell anoints...
Undertow the broken Ford
Back to garage,
help him, lord...
Eels are jellied,
bloated belly
Scallops seared,
wrinkled skin
Comb the cockles
from his beard
Notify the next of kin
Push the baby, cut the cord
Spread the feast
upon the board...
Coming out, emerging...
What happened?
You just stopped playing.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Just stop fucking playing!?
Bullshit!
There. The backup is bullshit!
Fucking bullshit!
It's okay, come on.
Come on.
Start up the car.
Hello. So Lucas has
been sectioned
and we need a new
keyboard player.
And Frank said, you know, "remember
that grateful-looking boy
who jumped on the stage
last week uninvited?"
I wasn't uninvited.
- Hello?
- So Frank said that he thought you brought
something cherishable
that night.
But he can sound really muffled
under the head so...
I thought he said
that you brought
something perishable.
You know, like food
that decays easily,
- like fish or fruit.
- Mm-hmm.
So I said,
"come on, man,
anybody can do that."
So anyways, we're doing
this really major thing
over in Ireland.
Are you in?
- Yes.
- Clacket Lane services, m25, 5:00 P.M. today.
"You would not believe
what's happening
to me right now."
"Throughthelookingglass."
Hello!
I wasn't sure where to wait.
Clacket Lane's pretty
labyrinthine, isn't it?
I was gonna stand by the... the
bank of Scotland Cashline...
You know, next to the R.A.C.
Membership stall there...
But, er... you know, I thought I'd
be more visible on the approach.
So I just decided
to come straight...
Hello. Oh.
Frank, scoot over.
Hi. Hi, everybody.
Hi. I was just
saying to don that
I didn't know where to stand 'cause I thought
that you might not see me, so, um...
- I have a certificate.
- This way, please.
It's an official
medical document.
Certificate. You'll note
the official stamp.
It's all legal and above board.
So, uh, what do you
think of Frank?
- Light me.
- Um...
Fucking amazing, isn't he?
Frank, you're on fire.
- He lives all the way out there, man.
- I'm on fire.
- I'm on fire.
- On the furthest corners.
Fuck, I wanna be Frank.
- Don?
- Yeah.
The head. It smells
like sausages.
- He never takes it off.
- Never?
- No, never.
- He sleeps in it?
- Yep.
- What about eating?
He sucks liquid food
through a straw
that he funnels up
under the neckline.
Occasionally solids,
but it's not encouraged.
- What kind of liquid food?
- Grownut.
- It's like a supplement.
- He must have a very bushy beard.
- Not necessarily.
- How does he clean his teeth?
Look, Jon, you're just
gonna have to go with this.
Okay.
Sorry, it's just...
- It's pretty crazy, isn't it?
- No, I know, I know.
I understand.
I understand.
But let me tell you something...
Frank, with all his issues,
is without a doubt the most
100%- sanest cat I've ever met.
Okay.
Me, on the other hand...
Well, you seem
pretty sane to me.
Yeah!
But, no no,
I spent a lot of time
in a psychiatric hospital.
I was labeled
as severely mentally ill.
I used to fuck mannequins.
- Right.
- It's a condition.
Here we go.
Welcome to Ireland.
Please remember...
Wakey-wakey,
eggs and bakey.
And everybody out.
Welcome to Vetno...
Our new home.
Don?
- Don!
- All right.
You like?-
- impulse response.
- Okay, people.
- Excuse me.
- Nana, Baraque...
How long will we be
staying here for?
...rhythm section shall be
housed in here. Ah, bunks.
It is.
Frank. The master
bedroom for you.
Had it customized
for all your requirements.
These will be the
bathing accommodations.
We will have many
productive seasons here.
And, Clara, your living quarters.
Don!
Nice panoramic view
of the lake here.
And, Jon, you and I
are just through here.
- Don.
- Yeah, buddy?
Don, sorry, I, uh...
I actually told work
that I'd be back on Monday.
Uh, so I was just wondering...
Why the fuck would you do that?
Well, I thought it was
just a gig, you know.
So I've only brought one
pair of pants and a t-shirt.
This is where I'll be staying,
right here in the green trailer.
So if you need anything
at night... you know,
sugar, milk...
If you freak out,
you just come a-knocking.
Come on, chop chop.
- That's alpine cedar... nice.
- Don!
- Yeah?
- How long are we staying here?
Just as long as it takes
to record the album, Jon.
"Vetno, Ireland.
After several days of what
Frank calls 'fieldwork, '
rehearsals proper
have begun."
"I'm settling in to my new life
and gradually getting to know
my fellow band members."
Wow, this is beautiful.
What do you call it?
Stay away from
my fucking theremin.
"A few teething problems,
as you would expect.
- But beginning to feel like one of the gang."
- Hey.
Mm-hmm.
"At vetno, there's already
a palpable sense
of free expression,
and I can't wait to dive
into the creative maelstrom."
Okay, everybody, next time
round go to "G" minor,
okay?
One two three four!
Fucking major, major!
"But of course,
I shall have to earn
my place in the band."
- Whoo whoo!
- "At the heart of it all
is Frank."
"How to describe Frank?
Mostly he seems friendly,
though sometimes
a little intense."
- Stop!
- It will be worth it!
"He can hide himself away
for days at a time.
What goes on
inside that head..."
- Jackpot!
- "...Inside that head?"
Yes!
It's like an aviary.
Your birds rock.
You're a cormorant.
Nana...
Moorhen.
Clara, the owl...
Night hunter, silent killer.
What have we got here?
Lay an egg for me,
little ginger bird.
Lay an egg!
"Frank says he must push us
- to our furthest corners..."
- Lay an egg with me.
"...and unlock the great music
that hides there."
- Get down there. Squat!
- Uh...
- Er, okay.
- Go on, lay an egg.
Get that egg out.
Squeeze that egg out.
"It can feel a little
overwhelming at times."
It has no business in there.
"But all in all, I am happy
to be a part of this."
"Just happy."
- I don't wanna be me!
- Go back inside!
- I don't wanna be me!
- Please, come with me back.
- Come on.
- Frank, just let me go!
- Please, don!
- I don't wanna live!
Don't let him get to the lake!
- Uh...
- Don't let him get to the lake!
- I'm free, I'm free!
- Please, don!
I'm free!
Wait wait, don.
- Oh.
- Don, don't get up.
I don't wanna be me.
Did he tell you
about the mannequins?
Yeah.
I met one once.
Caroline Cuntley.
- I'm Frank.
- I'm Jon.
Does he still...?
No.
He has relationships
with real women now.
But it's hard, you know.
He has to convince them
to lie completely still,
so, you know.
Hey, don't tell don I...
I said anything.
- No.
- He might think it a shameful secret.
I say tell everyone everything.
Why cover anything up?
Right?
Can I ask you something?
Sure.
Why do you wear that?
You think it's weird?
- Kinda.
- Normal faces are weird too,
you know,
the way they're smooth,
smooth, smooth...
And then blech!
You know?
All bumpy and holes.
I mean, what are eyes like?
It's like
a science-fiction movie.
Don't get me started on lips.
- Like the edges of a very serious wound.
- That's true!
But your head is still
sort of intimidating.
Well, underneath I'm giving
you a welcoming smile.
Would it help if I said my
facial expressions out loud?
Well, maybe.
Welcoming smile.
Frank?
You've been up all night talking
to the keyboard player?
I'm not just a keyboard player.
I write songs too. You
write your own songs?
Mm-hmm.
I'd love to play some
for you sometime.
I'd really like that.
Big non-threatening grin.
- Delighted look.
- Here, play one now.
- You're funny.
- Play one now.
- Excellent.
- Um, not... not right now.
- Okay?
- No no.
- I'd love to hear one of your songs.
- I would too.
- Go on.
- I... I don't think so, guys.
Please!
Hey, guys, Jon...
He writes his own music.
He's gonna play
some music for us.
I...
Come on.
- Clara.
- Share your music with us, Jon.
- Um...
- Play something!
Okay.
But I haven't
warmed up my hands.
Um, okay, um...
That's just... that's
a warm-up.
Um...
I've got one...
I've got one that's like...
I was walking down
the street one day
Thinking about
the lady I love
When a guy comes down
And says,
"what do you do?"
No, that's not... I haven't
finished that one.
I've got a kind of a rocky one.
LA-LA...
Lady in the red coat,
what you doing with that bag?
I've only... fuck, you know when
you've just got so many songs
and then just none of them'll
fucking come out?
Oh no, I've got one.
I've got one.
There's one which is like, um...
That's yours.
Don!
Hey, buddy.
- Oh, man.
- How are you feeling?
Better.
He's gonna need a chiropractor.
You bummed out?
- Little bit.
- Why?
I don't think I've ever
been able to find my...
Core song-writing themes.
- You know?
- You can write a song about anything.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Hey. Like your socks here.
They're pretty original.
Hey, look at this.
This little tuft in the carpet.
I wonder how old he is
in carpet years?
Is it spring? Mmm.
He's the first to wake?
Or... is he old,
but still strong enough
to keep what winter
wants to take?
Lone standing tuft
Defies the foot
Is it luck that
you're still standing?
You've not been
flattened, too
Do you tremble beneath
the gentle breeze
That's displaced
by my shoe?
Lone standing tuft.
- It's silly.
- Frank.
That's amazing.
Flattered grin, followed
by a bashful half-smile.
No, people should
know about you.
You should be famous.
You understand.
- I understand what?
- Understand that there are
people out there
that might like our music.
Sometimes I think Clara
doesn't care if people
like us or not.
- Really?
- It's weird.
It's really weird.
- What is this?
- Potato.
And what is this?
Stew.
You should go home.
Frank picked me, okay?
So it's not up to you.
- Excuse me?
- He said I was cherishable,
and he picked me
to join the band.
You are fingers being told
which keys to push.
- I push my own keys.
- 10 little bits
of bone and skin.
And I'm perfectly capable
of going to my furthest corners
and composing music.
- Your furthest corners?
- My furthest corners.
Someone needs to punch you
in the face.
Lips pursed together
as if to say
"enough frivolity."
Today...
We begin work
on the album in earnest.
"Frank wants us to start
- everything from scratch."
- Note the color-coding.
"He's created an entirely
new musical notation system."
...the entire universe,
like tiny little galaxies...
"We've designed
our own instruments."
"He has initiated
a strict regime
of physical exercise."
Oh, for fuck's sake!
"Fortunately, we have
a safe word for when
- things get too intense."
- Chinchilla, chinchilla!
"Chinchilla."
Chinchilla, chinchilla!
"It's incredible.
Frank finds inspiration
in everything."
- I find this inspiring.
- "How does he do this?
If I'm to grow as an artist,
I must see as he sees."
We could make an entire album
out of this one sound.
"I dedicate myself
to learning his secret
and I will not let anybody
get in my way,
however desperately
they may try."
Somebody's thinking in the
key of "C." Oh, it's me!
Oh, fuck!
Chinchilla.
- Keep going!
- Okay.
- Keep going!
- "I am more convinced than ever
that this band,
whether they realize it or not,
could achieve greatness.
And I will work to take my place
at its very heart."
"I will show them
what I am capable of.
I will show them."
- Hey.
- Psst!
Hey, man, what are you doing?
I'm composing a song.
Oh, right.
Mmm.
Yeah, man.
I know.
- What?
- I know what it feels like
to try and write a song
and it just comes out shit.
Here, let me hop in the saddle.
Here's a little
love song I wrote
a long long long time ago.
The stillness
Of the winter night
The frozen water's
Icy skin
Is broken by
the boatman's oar
Be still and let me in
Oh, let me in
oh, let me in
But stay still.
There, see?
Shit too.
But look, Jon,
sooner or later you're
gonna get the feeling,
"why can't I be Frank?"
Or "maybe I can be Frank."
But, Jon, there can
only be one Frank.
One.
Actually, don,
I think both our songs
were excellent.
Yeah.
Right? Come on,
let's go for a walk.
Yeah, I've known
Frank was special
since the moment
I first saw him.
This nurse was trying
to wrestle his head off.
I mean, the guy must
have weighed 300 lbs.
Frank was freaking out so
hard, he just backed off.
- A mental hospital?
- Mmm.
Have you ever seen him
without the head?
God, no.
Maybe he's facially disfigured,
forced to wear a mask
like the elephant man.
Hmm. All I know is that
he told me once
he was from Kansas...
Bluff, Kansas.
Bluff, Kansas.
Sounds dark.
'Cuzzi?
Naw.
Get back to work.
Miserable childhood,
mental illness...
Where do I find
that kind of inspiration?
Congratulations.
You've made the first step
towards releasing
your creativity in a way
that will change
every aspect of your life.
Take everyday activities
like shaving.
As Edward DE Bono once said,
how often does someone
using a traditional wet razor
stop to consider whether
instead of moving the razor,
it might be easier
to keep the razor still
and simply move the face?
What is that?
I think it's called
"the idiot shriek."
- Such pain.
- Hey.
- Such emptiness.
- Hey!
Shit!
What?!
Easy, don.
Start again...
From the beginning.
Patient smile.
Stop saying your facial
expressions out loud.
- It's extremely annoying.
- Sorry.
We've run out of time.
We've spent all
of our rent money
and the landlord gave us
30 days' notice to leave.
And we didn't leave,
so now they've rented vetno to
a family of holidaymakers...
Who are right over there.
Why didn't you tell us?
I didn't wanna disappoint you.
- I know.
- I can pay.
- What?
- When my grandfather died,
I inherited money.
He said it was my nest egg.
He said I should only ever spend my
nest egg on something really important.
I want you guys
to have my nest egg.
Oh, Jon.
Thank you.
Oh, ginger bird.
It'll buy us enough time
to make the album.
Shit. What do
we do about them?
Fucking crazy lady.
"It's been a long time
since I've written anything."
"We've been working
on the new music
for 14 hours a day for...
11 months now."
"It has not been easy."
Again.
"None of us has left vetno
since we got here."
Again.
"Frank refuses
to record the album
until we have perfected
each and every detail.
- He can be pitiless."
- Again!
Oh.
Merge!
"My nest egg has been depleted
a lot more
than I anticipated."
Come!
"We've had to start
rationing the food."
Thanks.
Fuck off.
"And on top of all this,
Clara's hatred of me..."
- Thief!
- "...Remains as strong
and as baffling as ever."
- I want it back. I want it all back.
- No!
Those are my
keyboard-playing fingers.
"I'll admit there
have been times
when I've considered
leaving vetno,
- but I'm still here."
- Morning.
- Hey.
- "And I am glad when I see
how many of you continue
to join me on this journey.
You know, despite all the
hardships I've suffered here..."
Just took a shit.
"...something inside me
is beginning to stir.
I've come to realize that this
is my bluff, Kansas,
that here in vetno
I have found
my abusive childhood..."
"...my mental hospital...
That which pushes me..."
- Oh God.
- "...To my furthest corners."
This is really good.
Frank. Frank, I've...
Get right in there.
Dog-leg left,
527 yards
to the center of the green.
Nobody hits a ball like that.
Get in the hole!
You're the man.
Oh. Oh, um...
I've written a song.
And it goes up.
Yeah.
Amazing.
Really?
- Yeah.
- You really think so?
Oh, that means the world
to me, thank you so much.
- Do you mind?
- Please.
- Okay, so pare that down.
- Mm-hmm.
Now go up a half.
Go up a whole.
- Mmm.
- Now go back down.
Oh, I see, yeah.
That's fantastic.
Uh-huh.
- That's excellent.
- Here.
- Yeah, uh-huh.
- Right?
- Yeah, right.
- 'Cause what were you playing before?
- That was like an "F."
- "F" yeah.
You play "F" there,
that'd be shit.
- Yeah, let's make that stomp a bit more.
- Okay.
Through the portals...
Vetno tapes, take one.
Comet tail
Screeching infrequencies
of pulsing infinities
Awake in the hive
where the sap is collected,
the process perfected
The galactic siren
sounds...
Down the dimensions
Of curled-up strings
inside the point
Get out the path
of the king!
Mr. Laurel
Get out the path of the king!
Mr. Hardy
Regret, get out the path
of the king!
They will not be able
to attend tonight's dinner
the supernova outshone
get out the path
of the king!
Yeah!
Saddle up...
Secure the galactic
perimeter
Weak and strong
nuclear bonds...
Whoo-hoo!
Stab it, stab it, stab it.
Now what's together
will soon come apart
when it's all over
Go back to the start...
Don?
We're done.
Hop to it! Oh, shite!
Over here!
Frank!
Get the rope off!
Bye, don.
You were the best
keyboard player we ever had.
The best man I ever knew.
Don used to be
the keyboard player?
First it was don,
then it was Lucas.
Now it's you.
Jon, what the fuck
are you doing?
It's what don would want.
So you've been posting
videos of us online?
That's not the point.
Because of those clips
we've been offered a really
fucking important gig.
You've been spying on us.
South by southwest.
In Texas.
It's very prestigious.
- They've got a new discoveries strand...
- That's ridiculous.
Come on, Frank.
Let's get you cleaned up.
Why does it say
"two-three-
seven-five-one"
at the bottom?
That's the number of people
who've watched the clip.
Two-three-
seven-five-one people
are interested in us?
Come on, Frank.
It's like magic.
I told you we could be big.
Can't see anything
in this fucking...
Ah!... fucking place.
What game are you playing?
Filling Frank's head
with these bullshit ideas.
I can't hear you over
the sound of the bubbles.
Fuck! How the fuck
do these fucking...
You've just pressed
the full-bubble-strength button.
They're on a timer.
You've just restarted.
- They... they won't stop...
- Leave Frank alone.
I know you want me to end up
like don or Lucas,
but that's not gonna be
my role in this band.
You are a mediocre child.
- Excuse me?!
- You're an infection.
You're like Joseph...
You keep him locked up like...
You're bindweed,
chickweed, pit tramp,
- abscess, absence, vacuum.
- ... Josef...
- What's his fucking name?!... Josef Fritzl!
- Middle management!
Cunt!
Oh, fucking hell!
Oh, fucking hell!
Oh oh God!
Ow ow!
Ow ow ow, oh fuck!
I'm fucking dying.
This is gonna be awkward.
What is?
Us, you know...
Together.
We will never be together.
Oh.
I find you...
Disgusting.
Mmm.
- Disgusting!
- Yeah, okay.
I get the point.
Clara.
What does he look like?
I don't know.
Was it awful in
the mental hospital, Clara?
- How should I know?
- I assumed you were mentally ill.
- You did?
- Mm-hmm.
Oh.
So why are you so against us
finding an audience then,
if it's not because
you're mentally ill?
You're in love with Frank.
You love him and you're scared
that if other people love him,
- you'll lose him.
- And one day I'll take off my glasses,
and he'll really see me.
And we'll do big kisses.
That's really how you think?
Don't presume to tell me
how I think.
If you fuck everything up
in America,
I'll stab you.
It's just like
"Paris, Texas," isn't it?
It's definitely...
What you looking for?
Don.
Hey, don?
Hey, partner.
I remember you saying
that the desert here
was your favorite place
in the whole world...
After SeaWorld, San Diego.
I know you were homesick, don.
I know there were times
when you wanted
to come back here,
but you didn't because of me.
Well, you're home now, don.
I promise those
sacrifices you made
won't be in vain.
Jon has foretold of a night
some nights from now when,
thanks to a secret camera,
legions and multitudes
of already adoring fans
shall gather
and-and they shall
receive our music
- in rapture.
- Okay.
- Oh!
- It's grownut.
Frank, it's grownut.
All right, don.
- Let's feed the desert with you anyway.
- Oh, don.
It's fucking grownut!
- Looking good!
- Don't touch me.
- Awesome costume, guy.
- Oh, thank you.
Thank you. We're
playing the sunshine
day after tomorrow.
Frank!
- Hello.
- Something tells me that
you guys are the Soronprfbs.
- That's us.
- You're Jon.
- Yes, hi.
- So here are the festival passes.
And an information pack
and did Simone
pronounce your name right?
- Jon.
- No, the band's name.
Oh, actually I don't know.
Clara, how do we pronounce
the band's name?
- Ask him.
- Listen, are you guys hungry?
Uh, yeah.
- Because we were gonna go get something to eat.
It's the best pancake house
in town.
There's open Mike.
It's gonna be awesome.
Awesome.
Awesome.
I sit in Tracy's bedroom
with my knee-socks
and Chelsea's beanie
Talking boyfriends
Tongues and weenies...
You guys have been
in the forest so long,
all this craziness has to be
kind of overwhelming, I guess.
No, we're cool
with that, you know.
I'm delighted to be
launching our album here.
Delighted look, you know.
This is the most...
Unique...
And exciting opportunity
you've given us
to finally play in front of people who
actually know and love us, you know.
Until now, our audiences
tend to be people who...
Who chance upon us,
and realize after a few minutes
- they don't like us.
- Frank!
Actually, I gotta tell you guys.
I mean, we know who you are.
Simone and me, we found you, but the
audience won't have heard of you yet.
They do not know and love us.
But more than 23,700 people
watched us on YouTube.
Oh, 23,000 hits
on YouTube is nothing.
They do not know us. Yeah,
those kind of views,
maybe one or two people
in the room will know you.
Maybe nobody. Half a million, that's
when you're onto something big.
We fucked it up. Okay, but
they're cool though, right?
- I mean they'll like us.
- They'll love you.
Jon, Jon?
"Recent revelations have
raised serious questions
in the band about the reception
we can look forward to
at new discoveries."
Lick my ass!
"A hastily arranged warm-up
gig earlier this evening..."
"...did nothing
to steady the ship.
Luckily, I am no longer
the man I was a year ago.
Now, in crisis,
I see creative possibility.
It turns out, I may be
closer to the zeitgeist
than certain people
gave me credit for.
I am ready to make
my mark on this band."
So you want us
to change our sound?
Look, we've always demanded that
the audience stretch their corners
all the way out to meet ours.
But what if, Frank...
What if we pull our corners back
a little bit?
Just a tiny tiny bit
and then everyone's corners can
meet in a place that's still
a really long way off.
But it's just a bit less...
You know?
And a bit more likeable.
- But not in a bad way.
- I'm not playing the fucking ukulele.
Frank...
I'm writing my most
likeable song ever.
I've always dreamed that one day
I'd have a band member
who shared my vision
of creating
extremely likeable music.
So thank you, Jon.
You gave me the
little push I needed.
- Yeah.
- Okay, enough chatter.
Here it is!
My most likeable song...
Ever.
Coca-Cola,
lipstick, Ringo
Dance all night,
dance all night
I've got dancing legs, whoo
I've got dancing legs
They won't stop me dancing,
no, they won't stop me dancing
Kiss me, just kiss me
Kiss me, Nefertiti
Just the way you like it
Just the way you like it,
kiss me, kiss me
Lipstick kiss me,
lipstick Ringo
That's the way
you like it!
Uh...
This is your most
likeable song ever?
Yeah!
- People will love it.
- Actually...
Actually, Frank,
I think that we could
push the likeability
even further.
No way!
You're shitting me.
How?
Can I just...
Um, where did you start?
But what if... I don't know,
we regulate it a bit more?
I love it!
- Yeah? And then maybe, you know, um...
- I love it.
If we played an "F" down here,
that would be good, wouldn't it?
You should be famous!
That's so likeable!
Jon fixed it!
I'm officially here.
Check me.
Hello.
Sorry.
Thanks.
- We're igniting the light and letting it shine.
We're igniting the light
and letting it shine.
- We're igniting the light and letting it...
- Hi.
Hey hi, can I get
a quick word with you?
We were in the forest
like secret squirrels.
Now we're likeable.
We're... we're so...
It's gonna be huge.
Jon fixed everything.
- You gotta come see us tomorrow night.
- Great!
- I promise nothing bad'll happen to you.
- Thank you so much.
- Let's go take a walk.
- I'm incredibly happy to be here.
- I'm fine, I'm relaxed!
- Great.
You know, forgive me
for my problems formerly.
The people were liking it.
The weight.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
I'm totally relaxed.
I'm... I'm fine,
I'm perfectly fine.
Frank's not okay. What
are you talking about?
I need your help
to get him out of here.
He said he's perfectly fine,
- relaxed.
- I need your help to get him out of here.
He looks happy to me.
- Whereas you seem...
- I seem what?
...not in control.
Frank?
Frank?
Have you seen a man
wearing a fake head?
No?
Sorry, have you seen a man
wearing a fake head?
- Yeah, a great big head?
- Yeah.
Yeah, he and a lady
went around the corner.
Frank, Frank!
Frank!
Frank? Oh, can you
feel my breath?
Frank.
What the fuck are you doing?
Breathe, breathe.
It's okay, it's okay.
Shh, it's okay.
Do you want to come back
to the hotel, Frank?
It's warm there.
Don't listen to her.
She's the one who's nuts.
Not you. Tomorrow
night is everything
we've worked for.
They're ready to love us.
Can you feel my breath?
They're ready
to love you, Frank.
Don't throw that away.
Frank, stay with me.
Oh, thank God.
Come on.
I'm sorry.
You a little sad?
Yes, Jon, I'm a little bit sad.
Oh no!
- Chinchilla.
- Chinchil... ow!
- Fuck!
- Frank, he's fucking crazy.
- Oh, she stabbed me in the fucking leg!
- Frank!
- Get off me. Frank!
- Hey, put the knife down.
- Who the fuck are you?
- "Clara Wagner,
our very own Syd Barrett,
was arrested today
and charged with assault
after stabbing me in the leg.
See link."
"We will all miss Clara
and sincerely hope
our own crazy diamond
will also shine on."
Nana, open up.
Baraque!
Is he here?
How is he?
He's dead?!
Asleep.
He's sick.
No no, he's...
He's just tired.
He'll be all right for tonight.
Not Frank, you.
Sorry?
I've known this since
the first time I saw him
on that beach.
He would have drowned Lucas
to take his place in the band.
- No, I wouldn't have.
- 'Cause when he looks inside himself,
he can't find anything there.
- Yes, I can!
- So his only hope
is to live off of your
talent like a tick.
- Sorry?
- Which is why he had to get rid of Clara.
Clara chose to stab me.
We're not playing without Clara.
What are you talking about? We've
got the biggest gig of our lives
coming up in three hours. The stabbing
could not have come at a better time.
Frank, I've had everyone at South
by southwest on the phone.
Baraque and I have packed our things.
We're leaving.
No, you can't leave.
We've had 767,328 hits.
Frank, say something.
- 767,918! They're all watching.
- Frank?
So many people.
See?
So many people.
Don't f... oh!
Good luck playing
tonight without a band.
I've got one word for you:
Unplugged!
Me on guitar, you on vocals.
Delegates really like it when bands
go unplugged... special thing.
- How's your leg?
- Oh, it'll be okay.
We set everything up
like you guys asked.
- Are you sure you want to go ahead?
- Oh, absolutely.
Igniting the light
and letting it shine.
Frank, are you okay?
Uh-huh! Ooh, if I was you
guys, I'd be so nervous.
Oh, it goes with the territory.
Yeah, but I mean playing
without your band
after what just happened?
Shit, man, I would be nervous.
Well, it's not like we don't
know the songs or anything.
With that many people,
I would be shitting myself.
- Would you please shut your mouth?
- I'm just saying...
Igniting the light
and letting it shine.
- Where are you going?
- To do my ablutions.
That's not the toilet.
Just... be as quick
as you can.
- 30 seconds!
- Frank.
Frank!
Let's fuck.
Just wait here
for a few seconds, okay?
Mm-hmm.
Hey!
Hey, don't... fuck.
Wait out here.
Whoo!
Hello.
Prepare for rapture!
Whoo!
Whoo yeah!
Hello, South by southwest!
Whoo!
It's been a crazy 24 hours,
but we're still here
and we're still the Soronprfbs!
Unplugged.
Chinchilla!
Chinchilla!
- Yeah!
- Okay, here's a little song I wrote.
I hope you like it.
This is the best day of my life.
LA LA LA-LA LA
LA LA LA-LA LA...
Come on, Frank.
LA LA LA-LA LA...
Fuck.
Fuck. Frank!
Frank, Frank!
What is it, Frank?
Frank, come on!
- What is it?
- M-music's shit.
The music is shit.
...demonstrate how
this mop with its revolu...
...biotech people
making money...
...Cleveland, Ohio band,
the gentile youth,
had all of Austin
talking last night
as they played a barnstorming
set at South by southwest.
Aren't we supposed to be
playing at South by southwest?
Frank.
I know you weren't happy
with the music...
So let's work on it together.
Why not?
You're not Clara.
The motel owner says if we haven't
paid in full by the end of the week,
they're throwing us out.
Fuck's sake!
Oh, excuse me for a second.
- Fuck.
- It's all right.
It's all right.
Here.
- Here.
- Just leave it.
Oh, you stink!
I made it.
Now will you use it?!
Take it off.
The head.
Maybe you should take it off.
I mean...
In cognitive
behavioral therapy they say
face your fears.
They say take the head off.
So let's do it.
- Let's take the fucking head off.
- I have a certificate!
I know you have a certificate.
I know you've got
a motherfucking certificate!
Just take it off!
Take it off!
Fucking hell.
Oh no, it's all right!
Frank!
Frank! Oh.
Frank, I'm sorry!
Come back!
Oh!
Where did he go?
That way.
- Was he injured?
- He was limping.
Did you see his face?
Yeah hello, you want
to report a missing person?
- Yes.
- Name?
- Frank.
- Frank what?
Just Frank.
- Age?
- Somewhere between...
30 and...
50?
And what does
this person look like?
Driving me crazy,
but I know who you are.
- Hmm?
- You're the chinchilla guy, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- Awesome!
And then, what, there's the
dude with the big head
and the crazy chick...
Uh... Clara, right?
Dude, you guys are
like total myths.
I mean there's fucking footage
of you everywhere online.
...chinchilla guy!
...chinchilla guy!
- Chinchilla guy.
- Oi, chinchilla guy!
See? I mean, all the footage...
You're all totally erratic and shit,
nervous breakdowns,
"chinchilla!"
People rolling around
on the floor.
I mean, just wayward stuff, man.
And now it's all like,
"what happened to Frank?"
It's like he just vanished.
I mean...
- Fucking hilarious.
- I don't think it's hilarious.
Really?
I thought it was supposed
to be hilarious.
- It's...
- But I mean, Clara and Frank, man.
Come on, they're like...
Total freaks.
On top of
old smokey
All covered
With snow
I lost my poor lover
By courting
Too slow.
How did you find us?
Uh, I saw...
Everything you said
was true, Nana.
I ruined everything.
I'm sorry.
So sorry.
Frank ran away.
I don't know if...
I was hoping you might
know where he is.
Ain't nobody here
wears no fake head.
Okay.
Bluff, Kansas.
Be careful.
Hi.
Frank?
Frank, I'm so ashamed.
I should never have tried
to pull your head off.
- I don't know...
- I'm the tree surgeon.
I'm just... I'm just here
to look at the tree.
Can I help you?
I've been very worried
about you.
I just wanted to find you to...
Make sure you're okay.
How are things without the head?
He had such a beautiful face,
lovely skin.
The head was my fault.
I made him his first one.
He was 14.
Said it was for a costume party.
I did it even though I knew
there wasn't any costume party.
It turns out the worst thing
to do with something like that
is to pander to it.
Who knew?
What happened to Frank?
Something must have happened
to him to make him like that.
Nothing happened to him.
He's got a mental illness.
The torment he went through
to make the great music.
The torment didn't
make the music.
He was always musical. If
anything, it slowed him down.
It was a good home.
It's just like my home.
I have to go now, Frank.
You all right?
Yeah.
I know I ruined everything.
I'm sorry.
It's good you're still playing.
I'm not.
I try, but...
It doesn't come out good.
I want to marry
A lighthouse keeper
And keep him
Company
I want to marry
A lighthouse keeper
And live
By the side of the sea
we'll have parties
On a moonlit isle
And clam-bakes
On a coral reef
We'll invite everybody in
and seagulls
By the score
I wanna marry
A lighthouse keeper
I'll Polish his lamps
By the light of the day
...marry
a lighthouse keeper...
It's really nice...
Nice to see you.
It's nice to be here.
El Madrid.
I love your wall.
The washrooms smell.
They could be cleaner.
Put your arms around me.
Fiddly digits.
Itchy britches.
Stale beer
Fat fucked, smoked out
Cowpoked
Sequined Mountain ladies
I love your wall
Put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all
Washrooms smell,
they could be cleaner
Stench of cigarettes
and stale urea
I love you all
Prodigal son wants to return
To where the dogs play pool
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all...
Stale beer, fat fucked,
cowpoked, smoked out
sequined Mountain ladies
I love you all
Put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
You all...
El Madrid,
it's nice to see you
it's really nice to be here
I love your wall
stale beer, fat fucked
smoked out, cowpoked
sequined Mountain ladies
I love your wall
put your arms around me
fiddly digits
itchy britches
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
you all
washrooms smell,
they could be cleaner
stench of cigarettes
and stale urea
I love you all
prodigal son waits to return
to where the gods play pool
I love you all
I love you all
I love you all
I...
Love
you all.
Banjaxed and broken
smashed up in bits
that is the only way
everything fits
all held together
spitballs and string
splinters of wood
on a bird's broken wing
now what's together
will soon come apart
when it's all over
go back to the start
now what's together
will soon grow apart
when it's all over
go back to the start.
Lonely little carpet tuft,
a twisted woolly Joshua tree
surrounded by
its fallen friends
alone in threadbare
woven field
lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
what age are you
in carpet years?
Is it spring and you're
the first to wake?
Or are you old
but still strong enough
to keep what winter
wants to take?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
is it luck that
you're still standing
and you've not been
flattened, too?
Do you tremble
in the little wind
that's squeezed out
by my shoe?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot
has your tuftiness mutated so
your strands are made of steel?
Is it sheer determination
you'll never bend
beneath the heel?
Lone standing
tuft
defy the foot.