Robot & Frank

Robot & Frank (2012) is Jake Schreier's small-scale science-fiction dramedy, and you can watch it online on iFILM. It is set in a near future where a household robot is no novelty, just another appliance on the shelf.

Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired cat burglar living alone, with his memory slipping further every month. Tired of worrying from a distance, his grown kids hand him a caretaker robot that cooks, cleans and keeps him on a schedule. The old man snaps at his new minder at first, then notices something useful: the robot draws no line between an honest chore and breaking into a safe. His old itch comes roaring back. Together the odd pair plan Frank's first heist in years and stumble into a genuine friendship along the way. Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler and James Marsden fill out the cast, with Peter Sarsgaard voicing the robot.

Schreier's debut premiered at Sundance, and it leans on quiet melancholy about memory and isolation rather than on effects. The sci-fi premise is really an excuse to talk about aging and what counts as alive. One for viewers who love smart, low-budget films with a bittersweet edge and a meaty Langella lead. Stream Robot & Frank (2012) online on iFILM.