- Director: Guillermo del Toro
- Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro
- Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen
- Cinematography: Dan Laustsen
- Editing: Evan Schiff
- Score: Alexandre Desplat
- Genre: Gothic science fiction
- Runtime: 150 minutes
If Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!‘ had released upon its original scheduled date, we’d have not one, but two Frankenstein films to devour in quick succession. It’s since been pushed back to next March, allowing Guillermo del Toro’s version some space to make its mark. How fitting it is that Mary Shelley’s tale of regeneration should have a resurgence of its own, a couple of centuries on.
This adaptation is far more in line with Shelley’s novel than any Universal Pictures monster flick. Here, the creature (often erroneously named after his creator) is imbued with thought and the capability to grow intellectually. He can speak, only single words at first, but he’s a smarter being than the stereotypical grunting green-faced brute of yore. Baron Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) character is also given depth and reasoning. His unflagging quest to resurrect the deceased is borne from the grief of losing his beloved mother in his childhood, accompanied by a desire to scientifically supersede his bully of a father, a notable physician.
Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth give fine performances; Isaac capturing Baron Frankenstein’s descent into madness. I’m not sold on the casting of heartthrob Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s creation. Our sympathies lie with the creature, chained and shackled in the basement of the scientist’s lab yet with the narrative so emotionally-driven, I can’t find enough of that necessary anguish in Elordi’s portrayal. I have issues with his design too; he’s too aesthetically pleasing for something that’s a shoddy patchwork of rotten flesh.
Del Toro brings the classic story to life with his sumptuous visuals, his penchant for bloodshed and a supernatural feel to it; he’s made Frankenstein’s creature immortal – impervious to bullets, bayonets and even a stick of dynamite. Did the reassembled body parts once belong to Chuck Norris?
My rating: 6 / 10
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