Premise
Split between the parallel realities of contemporary London and the futuristic metropolis of Meanwhile City, Franklyn follows the tales of four characters. Jonathan Preest (Ryan Phillippe) is a masked vigilante who won't rest until he finds his nemesis, Meanwhile City’s dangerous leader. Emilia (Eva Green) is a troubled young art student whose rebellion may turn out to be deadly. Milo (Sam Riley) is a heartbroken twentysomething yearning for the purity of first love. Peter (Bernard Hill) is a man steeped in religion, searching desperately for his missing son amongst London's homeless.

The film traces the intertwined fates of four lost souls as they move toward a cataclysmic collision of two worlds.

Reception
Rights to Franklyn were purchased from sales and financier HanWay Films by two distributors. Contender Films will distribute the film in the United Kingdom, and Seville Pictures will distribute the film in Canada. Both distributors operate under their parent company, Entertainment One. Franklyn premiered at the 52nd London Film Festival on 16 October 2008. The film will be commercially released in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2009. A release date for the United States has yet to be set.

Dave Calhoun of Time Out opined: "Produced by British industry veteran Jeremy Thomas, McMorrow’s admirable if not entirely coherent debut follows the lives of four people in and around London who are attempting to cope with various crises in their lives, from a relationship break-up and the search for a missing son to the psychological after-effects of military service. The film treads a fine line between realism and fantasy, occasionally dipping out of the world as we know it to visit a seductively strange vision of the capital that appears part-futuristic and part-medieval (and which gives the film its name). Riley follows ‘Control’ by leaning heavily on middle-distance stares and up-turned collars, while Green is a troubled art student with a good line in haute couture, and Philippe is a troubled ex-soldier. The main problem is that by the time this tricksy film finally plays its hand, many viewers may already have been lost at the wayside."

Derek Elley of Variety thought that the premise fit better as a novella rather than a feature film, believing that Franklyn lacked an emotional payoff. Elley criticized the script for not developing the ideas it introduced and for lacking background on the characters. The critic also considered Phillippe and Riley to be poor casting in their roles, while Green could not present her dual roles dramatically. Jason Solomons of The Observer reviewed the film, "The visual style is impressive but the storylines are thin and the characters all extremely irritating." Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International weighed in: "It's unusual in the current film-making climate to see an independent director making such an ambitious debut as Gerald McMorrow's Franklyn. He aims high, visually and conceptually, but a more experienced director would have trouble finding the right tone to pull this intricate plot off. Notices should be at least encouraging: McMorrow has pulled off a very handsome look on a limited budget."