Frankenstein Review – Jacob Elordi Shines in Gothic Saga

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Frankenstein Review – Jacob Elordi Shines in Gothic Saga

Story By #RiseCelestialStudios

Novelist Mary Shelley translated her complicated relationships with her family to her seminal Gothic literary masterpiece, Frankenstein, reflected in the central relationship between a cruel scientist and his horrifying failures as a “parent” to the offspring he created. Visionary Guillermo del Toro latches onto this prominent theme for his interpretation of the classic text, reshaping it to explore his personal relationship with fatherhood, both as a father and son. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein yields a sprawling emotional saga that’s impeccably crafted, but one that strips down much of the horror in a relatively faithful but overlong retelling that champions its empathetic Creature.

Del Toro, who writes and directs, splits Frankenstein into two parts. The first half introduces young Victor Frankenstein (Christian Convery), a promising child who adores his mother, Claire (Mia Goth), but struggles to measure up to the high demands of his father, Leopold (Charles Dance). When his beloved mother dies during childbirth, Victor is left without a nurturing figure and trapped with a hateful man who places success and the family name above all else. So, it’s no surprise that as an adult, Victor (Oscar Isaac) has become his father’s son, a man driven to surpass his father’s legacy in medical science by any means necessary. Enter Christoph Waltz’s Harlander, a gregarious benefactor and uncle to Victor’s love interest Elizabeth (also played by an underutilized Goth), who helps see Victor’s vision of defeating death to fruition.

Victor’s side of the tale, while crucial to establishing the cyclical nature of parental failings and their lasting imprint, is prone to meandering, made worse by Victor’s penchant for self-centered cruelty. While far less off-putting and heartless than Dad, Victor is no less villainous. Isaac plays Victor like a rebellious and self-absorbed mad scientist, masking childhood vulnerabilities far too well to connect with the character in any way. Part of this is by design, of course, as the film’s true beating heart will emerge in the second half, but the more Victor becomes consumed by his unwavering bid to reverse death, the more oppressive his brand of cowardice and ruthlessness becomes. Not helping is Harlander, a new superfluous character that doesn’t contribute much to the overarching story or themes beyond adding a new low to Victor’s steadfastly shrinking humanity.

The only reprieve in this section hails from Goth’s Elizabeth, and it’s here where del Toro makes the most noticeable changes to Shelley’s text. This vision of Elizabeth sees right through Victor’s artifice and rejects any notion of romantic reciprocity. Instead, Elizabeth becomes intrigued by Victor’s creation, the first true spark of life in Frankenstein. There’s an inherent beauty to the curiosity and kindness she affords the newly born Creature (Jacob Elordi), one that sets the stage for the inverse journey that follows as he takes center stage in the second half of the film. Whereas the lack of a motherly figure shaped Victor’s trajectory for the worse, Elizabeth’s maternal instincts and recurring protective nature set the Creature down a better path. Though both “father” and “son” remain firmly in the grip of uncaring father figures.

It’s the abundance of empathy that both del Toro and Elordi’s soulful performance extends the Creature that breathes life into Frankenstein. Elordi, buried under nearly unrecognizable prosthetics and a creature design reminiscent of the marbled vampires from del Toro’s Cronos or Blade II, turns in a career-defining performance that transforms Frankenstein from a dour, drawn-out retelling to a deeply affecting gothic opera. The Creature has always been pitiable and tragic, but it only grows more pronounced to a deeply poignant degree through Elordi’s portrayal, much of it conveyed through the depth of emotion in his eyes. Also helping ensure that the Creature emerges as the film’s ultimate figure of empathy is del Toro’s choice to trim out some of the Creature’s thornier story beats and mistakes.

Shining alongside Elordi is the film’s stunning production design, every detail, costume, and set piece informing the sprawling gothic melodrama. Claire Frankenstein’s preferred color of red looms large over Victor’s life, hiding in plain sight as a constant reminder of the mad scientist’s parental issues. Or the constant use of mirrors or round-shaped objects signals the cyclical nature of this particular tale. Even small details like the image of Medusa, herself a misunderstood monster, highlight del Toro’s penchant for designing with thematic intent and visual interest.

There’s no question that Frankenstein is absolutely breathtaking, with imagery and set pieces that instantly embed themselves in your memory. It showcases del Toro’s strength as a filmmaker, creating immersive worlds that enhance what he does best: championing monsters and their tragic humanity instead of using them to scare us. With Frankenstein, he delivers the most heartrending and soulful depiction of the Creature yet, the type of which moves you to tears by the film’s end. But it’s also, despite some noticeable detours, a bit too slavish to Shelley’s novel, to the point where it feels at once overlong and overly familiar, with supporting characters completely neglected, until the Patron Saint of Monsters finally lets his magnificent Creature take the spotlight.

Frankenstein made its North American premiere at TIFF before opening in select theaters October 17. It will arrive on Netflix on November 7.