[7]
Director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth) puts his cinematic stamp on Mary Shelley’s formative sci-fi novel, casting Oscar Isaac (Dune: Part One, Annihilation) as the obsessed Victor Frankenstein who brings an assembly of dead body parts to life. Jacob Elordi plays the reanimated monster, born with the innocence and curiosity of a young child. But Victor shows little patience or compassion for his creation, keeping him chained up at the base of his castle and ultimately attempting to kill him. The creature escapes and learns friendship and kindness from an old blind man (David Bradley) before stalking Victor down and demanding that he create a mate for him. When Victor refuses, the two enter a spiral of mutual destruction that climaxes in the Arctic.
Del Toro’s adaptation takes generous liberty with Shelley’s material, including the addition of new characters, supernatural abilities for the creature, and a dramatically different ending. But the changes work for this particular telling of the tale, turning into more of a compelling, character-driven drama than conceptual horror piece. The actors are very good all around, including Mia Goth as a more macabre version of Elizabeth, Christoph Waltz as Victor’s enthusiastic financier, and Charles Dance as Victor’s stern father. But it’s Elordi who steals the show as the creature, giving a performance that gradually transforms from docile pantomime to animalistic rage.
The adaptation splits its time between the two main characters. The first hour takes us through Victor’s upbringing and scientific experimentation, while the last hour is from the creature’s perspective. The ending gains emotional impact by the development of both characters, though the film does feel a little too long at two-and-a-half hours. Less time could have been spent with Victor, especially given the movie doesn’t fully take off until the creature’s arrival.
As always, Del Toro’s aesthetic choices are rich and detailed. The production design, costume design, makeup, and photography are all award worthy. Alexandre Desplat’s score is serviceable, though a more grand and memorable score seems warranted.
With Felix Kammerer and Lars Mikkelsen.