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Cast: Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), Dominic Gould (Marie Antoinette), Patrick Bauchau (Extraordinary Measures), Gerard Depardieu (Babylon A.D., Paris Je T'aime)
Henry (Dominic Gould) and Jack (Billy Boyd) are two famous and talented pianists: they are rivals and try to outdo each other in the various music events where they regularly compete. They have known each other since their days at the music academy and developed a very strong friendship. They met Lana there and Jack had an affair with her then. This friendship deteriorated along the years and Lana (Smada Wolfman) left Jack for Henry. Jack’s resentment towards Henry will increase even further when he realizes that although his talent as a pianist is as great a talent as Henry’s, he always ended up second … behind Henry. Simultaneously, Lana slowly realized that the only thing Henry cares about is his job. When she gets pregnant, he tells her he doesn’t want the child and she leaves him, taking refuge with Jack who thus finds a way to get back at Henry. From that point, the former friends will clash with no mercy, from contest to contest until the day a domestic robot, GLENN, enters their lives. GLENN will jeopardize everybody and everything around them but will also lead them into the most challenging soul searching.
The film's opening scene might have some confused at first but it plays an important role in the film a little later on. The film is about Jack and Henry, two men who were as much fiends as they are fierce rivals at the piano. The first few minutes of the film jumps around timeline wise to quickly set up the story about how these two quickly turned into enemies over a woman and jealousy. Lana, now with Henry after leaving Jack is pregnant and Henry who wants nothing to do with having a child at this point in his career throws a fit and Lana leaves. She goes to see Jack but after talking a few moments the two have a moment of passion just as Henry enters the room. The two men get in a heated battle and jack suffers a hand injury that all but ruins his playing days. A nice drama is in the works here but the film is also set in the future, the world now has robots that perform everyday tasks but when a new chip is create to give the robots more human feelings Jack begins teaching his robot who he has now named Glenn to play in hopes of competing against Henry and winning the Toronto chair from him. Henry takes the challenge on but if he wins he wants Lana back and Jack to leave them alone. During the audition Glenn is asked to play a tune Jack never taught him and when he is unable to perform it the competition is called off. Angry, confused and drunk Jack sits alone in his apartment with Glenn and simply rambles on about a plan to get even with Henry but Glenn takes it all in and puts the plan in motion. When jack decides to go out awhile Henry shows up, Glenn is there and after shocking Henry he puts Jack's plan into play. Once Jack returns the two men find themselves stuck in a life and death situation, with their lives on the line they must set aside their differences and work together in order to get out alive. To go on when only give the rest of the movie away so I will stop here. "Glenn: The Flying Robot" is a Sci-fi film that has a lot going for it, the two males leads, Dominic Gould and Billy Boyd are terrific together. It is their chemistry that makes the characters believable and realistic. The robot effects are top-notch and the settings and music both add to the over-all atmosphere of the film. "The Pianist Meets I, Robot", the story is about two men who are forced to dig deep within themselves to find what is really important in life while trying to stop Glenn before he ends it all for the both of them. Thought-provoking in the human sense as well as in the technical sense, it makes you wonder how far is too far when creating machines and giving them power.
A drama set in the future that tackles a few issues while staying engaging and entertaining at the same time, I enjoyed everything about the film and felt it did a great job telling the story while remaining original and fresh. If you're looking for something interesting yet different to watch then I suggest picking this up when it comes to DVD on Feb. 22, 2011. Director, Marc Goldstein did an amazing job considering this was his first feature film behind the camera, I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next. The great Gérard Depardieu is also in the film as well but his role is very limited, I still enjoyed seeing him again even if it was brief. Also Smada Wolfman does a great job playing Lana, a limited but important role and she is fantastic in the part. Maybe not a perfect film but a highly entertaining one none the less, I highly recommend checking it out when the time comes. The DVD will come with Special Features that include:
"Reversed Angle" - A pecial look behind-the-scenes of Glenn The Flying Robot
Photo Gallery
Trailer
Before I close this out, there is a scene inside the credits of the film that adds to the whole "food for thought" thing that is a theme here, I suggest sticking around to check it out. You can check Osiris Entertainment's website to see when the film comes up for pre-order HERE.
Released by Osiris Entertainment
*** 3/4 Out of *****