I’m a simple film aficionado, I see that Guillermo del Toro has made a new movie, and I pay attention. I was very curious about his most recent endeavour, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s timeless classic novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. I missed it during its theatrical run, but the film is now available on Netflix, and honestly, I kind of wish I had seen this on the big screen.
The film stars Oscar Issac as the titular Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, a brilliant but troubled surgeon who is obsessed with putting a stop to death. Haunted by the death of his mother and the trauma inflicted upon him by his father, Viktor grows up with a singular goal in mind: to be the one to put a stop to death itself. His work earns him a reputation as a sacrilegious madman, reanimating corpses in front of medical tribunals. But his work catches the eye of Christoph Waltz’ Henrich Harlander, a wealthy arms dealer who sees value in Viktor’s work. With his funds, Viktor is able to delve into new lows and bring about The Creature, a shockingly powerful and seemingly immortal being that Viktor created out of bits and pieces of other bodies and brought to life via electricity. But what are the moral and ethical implications of such an act, and what is the method behind the madness?
The film is broken up into two distinct acts: Viktor’s and the Creature’s. Viktor’s half covers his childhood, all the way through until just past the “birth” of the Creature, while the latter tale is told from that point on up until it catches up with the film’s opening. Del Toro really allows Oscar Issac to flex his acting chops in this film, really diving into the madness and the vanity that such a brilliant scientist would have to delve into such a project. He’s a man driven by the demons of his past, inflicted by traumas given to him by his father, who grilled a young Viktor relentlessly and favoured his youngest child instead, William. While Viktor is attempting to bring the dead back, he ends up reconnecting with his brother thanks to him marrying Harlan’s own niece, Elizabeth (Mia Goth), with whom he ends up developing a bit of a fancy for (which is interesting and telling, as Goth also plays Viktor’s mother in the film and trust me when I say, it was not obvious but contributes to the many parental baggage the character has). Issac plays Viktor with an accent, and while it’s not the best put-on accent I’ve heard, it was thankfully never distracting.
The Creature, interestingly enough, is played by Jacobi Elordi, and this is probably the most “pretty” version of Frankenstein’s monster to date. Towering above the rest of the cast, Elordi’s version of the creature seems less horrific than previous iterations, with a chiselled figure and more boyish looks. It’s a choice that does take me out of the horror of the creature, but Elordi does play the Creature quite well, offering plenty of natural curiosity, rage, empathy and despair. I think I would have preferred a more traditionally monstrous design for him, despite enjoying the overall performance.
While there are some shoddy moments of CGI throughout the film, it does excel with its set and costume design. This is a highly exaggerated reimagining of the Victorian era in Scotland, with bold colours (in particular red) bouncing off the gloom that dominates the screen. There’s some great animatronic work at play with some of the reanimating corpses, and the sets are lavish and detailed. Alexandre Desplat clocks in to work on the film’s score, and what a score it is, worthy of a nomination for best score easily.
Now, those looking for a pure adaptation of the original novel may be upset. I had to do some sleuthing just to make sure I knew what I was talking about here, but there is a decent amount of deviations from Shelley’s original Frankenstein text that may anger or alienate those who stand by the book and by the original messaging of the text. At around two and a half hours with credits, I also found the movie did lull a bit in terms of pacing, right around the spot where the Creature was born, and it did take some time for the momentum to pick back up.
Del Toro delivers another great film, one full of great performances and technical wizardry all around. It does suffer from some pacing issues, and I’m not sold on the overall design of the Creature in this adaptation, but those who don’t mind some changes made from the original story should have a great time watching this. I’d say it’s an easy sell for those who enjoyed del Toro’s Crimson Peak, as it leans more into that Gothic romantic side of the story, rather than a straight horror akin to Nosferatu. If that sounds interesting to you, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. I know I did!