Watch Frankenstein on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Guillermo del Toro (screenplay, story), Mary Shelley (book "Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus")
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, David Bradley
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Verdict
It's a well made movie pitting the arrogance of Frankenstein against his creation that seeks a sense of belonging. The scope and scale of the movie is impressive and feels authentic. It's a spectacle, but I didn't connect with it. Maybe it's because I've seen so many variations on this theme though this is probably the definitive version due to the production.
It depends.
Review
An introduction with a ship stuck in ice, an injured Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), and an attack by what the crew deem to be a monster leads into the first half of the story as Victor recounts his tale of what just attacked and also defying death to bring someone back from the dead to the ship's captain.
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| Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein |
Victor's rigid father pushed him to be a doctor, but losing both parents young turned his attentions to conquering death. In college he makes a breakthrough, but the administration deems it an abomination and trickery. Undeterred, and aided by his brother's father-in-law's donations, Victor obtains a laboratory and unlimited resources. While studying and dissecting bodies, Victor falls for his brother's fiance Elizabeth (Mia Goth). For the first time he's interested in life, though his research into death and resurrection continues. It's certainly dark as we watch Victor cut and stitch bodies together. The production design always impresses.
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| Jacob Elordi plays The Creature |
We notice a distinct difference in how Elizabeth treats The Creature (Jacob Elordi) versus Victor regarding it as nothing more than an experiment. She treats the creation as sentient. For Victor it's only something to be studied, an object.
The Creature interrupts Victor's tale, prepared to end Victor. When the ship's captain taunts The Creature, he pauses to tell the other side of the story. Victor's tale focuses on his ambition and vanity. The Creature's tale centers on seeking peace within a violent world. He wants a sense of belonging, but because of how he looks peace is difficult to find. He makes a friend, a blind man, but that ends prematurely. The Creature finds Victor and pleads for a companion. Victor scorns him and begins hunting him.
I was surprised at the ending as Victor never showed any remorse or empathy for anything he did. While he does hear a compelling story, the ending is just too clean. I suppose the point of the tale is that listening and empathy can go a long way, but it just seems too easy.
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