In the near future (or an alternate present), an aging, ex-cat burglar (Frank Langella) seems forgetful to his self-consumed children (James Marsden, Liv Tyler) who decide the best recourse is to provide him with a robot assistant (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) to help around the house and keep him company. After initially resisting the idea, the old man eventually embraces his new friendship and plots to includes his new automated companion in his coming out of retirement plans. Robot & Frank has an incredibly silly premise and nonetheless yields surprisingly poignant results thanks to the straightforward, excellent performance of Langella and a humorous screenplay.
