Frankenstein
Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of the iconic Mary Shelley novel- the original science fiction and horror hybrid- feels like the work of a filmmaker who was cashing every chip he made in Hollywood to make a passion project. More than “Crimson Peak,” “The Shape of Water,” “Pacific Rim” and “Pinocchio,” one gets the sense of “Frankenstein” as a film which the director has had in his mind for years, and was finally able to realize. Will it overtake the James Whale films in terms of the story’s cinematic legacy? Likely not, but it still feels like a high water mark for its maker.
One thing that you can expect from Del Toro is that he’s going to put his spin on adapting material, as was very much the case with “Pinocchio.” Here, we get a film that explores the mythos of Doctor Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Issac) and his creation of life out of death from the side of Victor, and his Creature (played by Jacob Elordi). The two stories collide when Victor is discovered by a Danish Naval ship around the North Pole, and The Creature is on his tale. He has no choice but to share his story and, when The Creature shows themselves to be well spoken, his story is worth telling, as well.
I have not read Shelley’s novel, although I have gotten the audiobook since watching Del Toro’s film, but every iteration I’ve seen is built on the same idea- science is a fascinating tool, but responsibility to the laws of nature must be honored when wielding it. Victor is, at the story’s core, its villain, with The Creature being an innocent, given life without thought to what that would represent beyond the fame of doing what only God is capable of. When we watch James Whale’s films in the Universal cycle, that is abundantly clear, although Victor- to his credit, in those films- seems to realize the error of his ways. Del Toro did not have to break up the narrative the way he did to accentuate it, but him doing so is crucial to his interpretation of the text- his Victor is a manipulator who is more enamoured with whether or not he succeeds than the moral implications of what he’s done. Issac is fantastic in the role, and delivers a performance that is high melodrama, and a character who is beyond redemption.
Del Toro is a master of creating a full vision in the worlds he builds in each film. The key predecessor to his “Frankenstein” is “Crimson Peak,” which also feels like the most extravagant Hammer horror film come to life. These films do not really seem as inspired by the Universal monster films, although there are definitely allusions to Whale’s films- especially in the performances of Mia Goth, who Victor’s sister-in-law, Elizabeth, as well as Claire Frankenstein, and Elordi, who brings empathy to the ferocious Creature. The film feels epic and alive in its production values, and as yearning as Alexandre Desplat’s score can be. This is another wonderful genre film that defies expectations from a filmmaker whom we should be expecting the unexpected from, at this point.
