Based on the book by Mary Shelley, this film titled “FRANKENSTEIN” has its screenplay written, directed and produced (in collaboration with three others) by Guillermo del Toro. The Gothic horror thriller which was hitherto released to theatres in October with a runtime of 2hours 32minutes is now currently streaming on Netflix.
MAY contain spoilers from here on
SYNOPSIS:
Consumed by his own obsession to create life that would defy death, overcome by his resentment towards his father, a brilliant scientist Victor Frankenstein (played by Oscar Isaac) having made attempts at convincing a panel of professors & intellectuals about his theory of human anatomy, would by the help of Harlander (portrayed by Christoph Waltz) eventually succeed at making his monster. What follows after is a case of the creator Vs. the creature; a mix of rage from abandonment, horror, regrets, vengeance and the desperate desire to be loved.
MY TAKE:
The fact that I binged this movie in one sitting before realising it was almost three hours long tells how much I enjoyed it! From the very first scene with the Danish Voyagers, I was sat, hooked and by the time the creator Victor started his narration, I was already fully invested.
STORY/PLOT:
Set in the 19th century, partly in London, the story follows young Victor tutored by his father, inseparable from his mother until tragedy struck. Victor, questions his father and vows to be better than him until his obsession took the better of him. The story highlights the woes of obsession when left unchecked or uncontrolled. It depicts child discipline as prevalent in the time of reference of this film. The plot is steady throughout and the approach to storytelling is simple yet fascinating. It holds you by the hand every step of the way!
CASTING/PERFORMANCE:
Oscar Isaac gave a brilliant depiction of the character of Victor Frankenstein. Jacob Elordi’s interpretation of the creature, oh my, such a stellar performance; award winning actually.
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly impressed by Mia Goth’s representation of Elizabeth Harlander (William’s fiancee). It came off to me as some miscasting as I believe there are other actresses who could have effortlessly embodied the character better unless perhaps, Guillermo was trying really hard to stay as close as possible to the description of the characters in the book. Apart from her, all other actors ate (in my humble opinion…no offence intended).
DIRECTION/EXECUTION:
The style of storytelling is such that could only make for a successful execution. This adaptation has to be one of the best. The sequencing was brilliant especially in regard to the split in parts between “Victor’s Tale” and “The Creature’s Tale” It gives viewers a chance at seeing the story from two angles or perspectives.
The last time I watched a film and I was this empathetic towards a monster and rooting for them, I think was in Dysney’s “Beauty & the Beast” Viewers are given a balanced view of the story and this helped towards a perfect execution. There were no repeated dialogues nor lazily dragged scenes and with a pacing such as the one in this film, you’d have watched it for three solid hours before realising it. That’s some skilful masterful delivery there! Kudos!
TECHNICAL ASPECTS:
The cinematography is powerful with vividly warm yet crisp imagery. The set design, makeup, costuming, script, lines, locations, stunts/choreography were all good…no, scratch that…they were amazing. The attention to details is top notch. I reckon that multiple awards await this aspect of the film too. The sound score also set the right ambience and tone for the genre. The symphony, injury details, the show of blood, EVERYTHING was believablely spot on! 
MORALS/LESSONS:
“God gives and God takes” for a reason! Victor’s outcome with his creation speaks to this fact.
It is always best to hear from the two sides of a story. In this case, it was “Victor’s Tale” and “The Creature’s Tale
For how Victor felt later on after his experiment was successful, this can be likened to how some women feel post partum. All the child wants is to be loved irrespective of its looks, appearance or inability, condition or illness. Victor could not bring himself to love his creation and that was his undoing albeit it was good he accepted that he failed. That too could lead to depression.
When kids are born, they’re a tabula rasa; a clean empty slate. They grow up to learn from their immediate environment. This was depicted in how the creature learnt to talk, read and express himself just by observing that family at the farm
‘PLEASE’ ALWAYS HELPS!
OBSERVATION/QUESTIONS:
1. The Captain of the Royal Danish voyagers asked “What manner of creature is that? What manner of devil made him?” and Victor replied “I DID…I DID!” Who then can we say is the real monster between the creator (Victor) and the creature?
2. Did Victor’s father really have anything to do with his wife’s demise or she died of childbirth complications? I have reasons to believe the former.
3. After Victor set the castle (or whatever his experiment hub was) ablaze, why then did he go back to open the door last minute? Was he being remorseful? To me, that didn’t make any sense!
4. The first time Elizabeth set her eyes on the creature (breathing), her expressions were underwhelming in my opinion. She was weird in her own ways. On the whole, I just wasn’t feeling her reactions; whether facially or otherwise.
5. What exactly did Harlander want from Victor when Victor found out he was terminally ill?
6. The captain shot at the ice with a certain kind of rifle or bazooka and the ice broke underneath the creature. Why then did they not use same weapon to break themselves free of the ice around the ship that made them stuck in the first place? Did the ice in front of the ship finally melt at the end of both tales?
7. How did that family not know that there was a stranger lurking around in their house the whole time? I mean, the farm house wasn’t such a ginormous one to begin with, or was it?
8. At the point when Victor’s frustration or rage had heightened, he asked the creature to “say something else apart from VICTOR and I may just spare you” and the creature said “Elizabeth” after a few tries. Victor still carried on with his initial threat! Why? Was he consumed by jealousy too?
9. Is it just me or does the lady who played Victor’s mother also look like Mia Goth who played Elizabeth?
CONCLUSION:
Despite some few head scratchers, this had me spellbound for real! It was such an amazing watch; a masterpiece if I may! Captivating, intriguing, suspenseful, engaging, relatable, educational, superb acting from majority of the cast, entertaining, visually appealing and interesting, you are hooked from when you first looked.
Besides the gory sights and body horror, there were no explicit scenes nor fowl languages; a pretty decent watch this is! I must commend the entire cast and crew involved in this project. I see this bagging major awards; from director, to the lead actors to the makeup artist and costume designer.
I super loved it!
