Frankenstein

Who’s ready to meet the real Frankenstein? I don’t mean the numerous parodies, kid-friendly and not, but Mary Shelley’s actual tortured monster. Are you ready? Well, keep waiting, because this ain’t it.

That’s not to say Guillermo del Toro’s version of the story is awful — far from it. It’s just that Shelley could articulate ideas in print that film has historically struggled to capture. It's especially evident with the monster himself, here played by Jacob Elordi, whom she described as a creature of "horrid contrast" whom Dr. Victor (Oscar Isaac) created in a deliberately vague manner. Sure, CGI could replicate the uncanny valley of this description, but this makeup team creates an otherworldly, yet stunning, creature.

Anyway, I have to get to the movie, which, like the novel, begins at a North Pole. There, Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) and his crew take the half-dead Victor aboard. The Doctor recounts his life story as his creature demands his maker. Traumatized by his mother, Claire's (Mia Goth) death in childbirth with his brother William (Felix Kammerer), Victor devotes his life to necromancy. The scientific community shuns him, but rich man Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) agrees to write him a blank check. It just so happens that Harlander's niece, Elizabeth (also Goth), is William's fiancée.

After much effort, Victor finally creates his homunculus. Elizabeth bonds with the unsightly creature, whom Victor chains up in the sewers beneath her uncle's castle. Victor, meanwhile, declares the experiment a bust because of the monster's limited vocabulary - he can only say Victor's name. He blows up the castle. At this point, The Creature—credited simply as such—tells Anderson how he survived and wandered the world looking for a purpose in life, or, failing that, an end to it all.

While most adaptations emphasize a "don't play God" moral, this one interestingly amends that to "don't play God if you don't want to do all the work." Yes, Victor breaks his back setting up his necromantic experiment. Yes, he puts his foot down when Harlander springs an unpleasant caveat at the worst possible time. But he's not that interested in nurturing or educating his creation. In fact, he blows up the castle even after The Creature says more than just "Victor." It's not just impatient, it's callous, and of course there will be consequences. That moment, and one last conversation between Victor and William, cement the former as the real monster of the tale.

That's not to say Victor is completely unlikable. We can already tell he's been punished enough when Anderson brings him aboard. We'll just have to watch how he got there over the course of two-and-a-half-hours. Initially, his self-ego can be quite charming, and even hilarious when others put him in his place. That lasts until he brings The Creature to life. We can sympathize with him being mistreated by his emotionally sterile father (Charles Dance), but not with him mistreating his own son. The consequences for Victor are brutal. But after everything, it's still moving when Victor and his creature reconcile. 

Elordi wonderfully conveys the creature’s soul beneath all that makeup. It’s hard to feel nothing when he realizes his own maker deemed him a mistake. Not only that, but because of his insane healing factor, he’s a mistake that can’t be undone. His misery turns to rage, and that rage gets violent. Still, a blind man (David Bradley) proves to be a better father than Victor, and if not for his violent death, he could’ve turned the creature’s life around. It's quite nice seeing them interact before the wolves show up. Anyone only familiar with the blind man with the Young Frankenstein parody, where he's played by the now-deceased Gene Hackman, are in for a surprise.

Waltz is also charming as Harlander, whom you wouldn't suspect had any ulterior motives until he springs them on Victor. Goth is fine as Claire, but she's even better as Elizabeth, whose complicated relationship with Victor is dynamite. She shares better chemistry with the creature than she does with William (Kammerer is just fine in the role). On the technical side, Del Toro's usual craftsmen - costume designer Kate Hawley, cinematographer Dan Laustsen, production designer Tamara Deverell and composer Alexandre Desplat - once again work wonders in visualizing their director's gothic aesthetic. The CGI is often obvious, including the aforementioned wolves, but it's still effectively gruesome.

I could have seen Frankenstein last month when it played in theatres. But, as usual, I waited until it premiered on Netflix, which it actually did about two weeks ago. I may be late for the fun, but it's still fun, nonetheless. As the year winds down, and the days get longer, this new Frankenstein might just suit the mood. It might make for an interesting double feature with last year's Nosferatu, but I've got a better idea in mind.

It will take a while, but I suggest double featuring this Frankenstein with The Bride!, Maggie Gyllenhaal's take on Bride of Frankenstein, which will come out in March. But if you can't wait, just sit back and chill with the film you can watch now. It's a long movie, but it's worth every minute.