Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Set between the parallel worlds of contemporary London and the futuristic faith dominated metropolis of Meanwhile City, Franklyn weaves a tale of four souls, whose lives are intertwined by fate, romance and tragedy. As these worlds collide, a single bullet determines the destiny of these four characters.
Franklyn is a visually striking and conceptually ambitious debut from Gerald McMorrow, blending a dystopian noir fantasy with grounded contemporary London drama. The Meanwhile City sequences are genuinely distinctive — heavily designed, atmospheric, and unlike almost anything else in British genre cinema of that era. The four-strand narrative structure is bold and the film earns real novelty points for its singular vision and aesthetic. However, the plotting is uneven and the parallel world conceit, while inventive, is ultimately resolved in a way that feels deflating rather than earned — the ending collapses the fantasy in a manner that undercuts the film's own internal logic. The acting is competent across the board (Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Sam Riley) but inconsistent, with Green being the clear standout. Cinematography is a genuine strength, with the contrast between the two worlds handled with real craft and atmosphere.