‘Robot & Frank’ Trailer Promises Some Heisting

Often films about the future try to go the 'Blade Runner' route of having big oppressive cities and flying cars. What's interesting about the 'Robot & Frank' trailer is that it shows the future from the perspective of a smaller town. Technology has advanced, but there are still trees.

Frank Langella plays an old coot whose children (Liv Tyler, James Marsden) are looking out for him from a distance, and his son buys him a robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) so he'll have a companion. Susan Sarandon plays his love interest and from the trailer, it looks like the film also hinges on him going back to a life of crime, with the robot as his sidekick. But as he's an old fart, it's probably meant to be more charming than, say, 'The Wire.'

The film, by first-timer Jake Schreier, played Sundance earlier this year and got good buzz (currently it's at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes). It's no surprise that it's been picked up by Samuel Golden Films with plans for it to hit theaters on August 24. And what's great about it is that it's speculative science fiction from a perspective that is imminently relateable, but new territory cinematically.

Here's the trailer: