Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013
In this playfully subversive reflection on aging, death and intelligence, artificial and otherwise, Frank (a wry and wily Frank Langella) is a retired cat burglar with a failing memory. Much to his annoyance, his fussbudget son buys him a butler/caregiver robot (voiced by Peter Saarsgard), a commonplace item in the film’s not-too-distant-future setting. The crusty Frank initially resists, but then realizes he can persuade the capable little appliance to help him swipe the jewels of a particularly arrogant yuppie neighbor. Also a radiant Susan Sarandon, James Marsden and Liv Tyler.