Frankenstein
Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Christoph Waltz
MA15+
4.5/5
Frankenstein is a thrilling, sumptuous, deeply moving triumph from Gothic grandmaster Guillermo Del Toro.
While the broader plot diverges significantly from Mary Shelley’s foundational source novel, Del Toro’s Frankenstein is one of the most faithful adaptations yet in how it portrays the monster (Jacob Elordi) as a being with intelligence and pathos, and its creator Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) as a man without empathy who failed his creation.
Even under heavy prosthetics, Elordi is achingly sympathetic as the monster, playing him as both ferocious and gentle, vengeful and wise, as he savours the beauty of the world but is constantly beaten down and rejected.
Isaac also has an enthralling arc as Victor, who is initially a roguish whirlwind of scientific passion but grows detestable as he mistreats his creation.
Christoph Waltz offers wry fun as Frankenstein’s benefactor Heinrich Harlander (a character invented for the film).
The one weak link in the cast is Mia Goth as the compassionate Lady Elizabeth, who is just slightly bland.
Del Toro has a talent for running dark themes through a fairy-tale lens, and continues his commitment to staggering art direction and grand, real sets and practical effects.
Frankenstein is told mostly through long narrated flashbacks; this presentation may bother some viewers, but the flashbacks are so tragic, stylish and visceral that it hardly matters that you know Victor and his
monster will survive until the climax.
I am also convinced that the action moments on the ice pay homage to The Terminator, which is something a nerd like Del Toro would do (I say this with love, as a nerd myself).
Frankenstein will come to Netflix on 7 November, but I urge you to see this magnificent movie on the big screen during the spooky season.
