This was Guillermo Del Toro’s (GDT) dream. I’ve been lucky enough to meet the man during a screening of Crimson Peak. Even then, all Del Toro wanted to talk about instead of his movie was spirits and creatures, and how they have shaped his life. That all started with Boris Karloff and Frankenstein. Even though this is the honor and privilege of Del Toro’s career, sadly, that doesn’t always equate to the best film of their career too.
This Frankenstein does its best to be faithful to Mary Shelley’s novel, but we should all know at least the beats of the story by know. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) becomes obsessed with the idea of overcoming death, so much so that he gets thrown out of collegiate society. But, wealthy arms manufacturer Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) sees Victor’s vision, and financially backs him to see if his theories can become reality. In a giant remote castle during a lightning storm, Victor finally succeeds, and his monster (Jacob Elordi) comes to life. A miracle to some…but a harbinger to others, especially when you look at the grotesque creature with your eyes.
Apparently Ted Sarandos is GDT’s Henrich Harlander. Netflix spared no expense crafting Del Toro’s baby. As such, the sets and costumes are simply magnificent. Victor’s college lecture feels medieval: a claustrophobic circle bearing down judgments upon his studies. Having seen versions of the Frankenstein lighting sequence before, GDT’s gives the movie an epic, and old, European feel to it. Oscar Isaac kills it with the hair and makeup, and everytime Mia Goth wanders into a room she’s flowing with headdresses and silk blowing in the wind like the beacon of despondent warmth she’s supposed to be. Even the farm hovels feel wonderfully lived in and time travel us back to the period of the story.
That being said, GDT’s Frankenstein is the movie equivalent of “you should never meet your heroes.” Years of history with the director knows that he’s completely empathetically obsessed with Frankenstein’s monster. That one believe triggers a series of choices that erode the story GDT wants to tell. If the monster’s sympathetic only, that means Victor has to push a little too far into madness territory. There’s a great story in here about the doctor choosing others over himself, but the way Del Toro shoots it makes Oscar Isaac look like a real piece of sh*t, perennially blinded by his own hubris in a 2 dimensional way. A sympathetic monster also needs to not look abhorrently hideous, so the practical effects wizard GDT opts instead for a CGI version of the monster, who looks like a scarred alopecia ridden Jacob Elordi (who’s great, by the way). Of course we’re gonna be sympathetic to that guy! But that undercuts the emotional highs the movie wants to achieve when the monster feels any kindness at all. We should have just seen the monster become alive in the lab, and just had a story about him roaming the Earth for his master and purpose, the best parts of GDT’s movie, where his heart really lies, instead of spending over half the time with Victor and his science experiments.
But there’s love and affection here for Frankenstein. And when Guillermo Del Toro is excited to make a movie about something, I’ll always be ready to watch and get excited. Now that he’s got this one out of his system, I hope he goes back to what really makes him special. Channel and connect with those spirits and creatures you love sir, and make your own original tale from it. Be a part of history, don’t just dwell in it, my man.