DIRECTOR: Guillermo Del Toro
STARRING: Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, David Bradley, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
DURATION: 149 minutes
Published back in 1818, “Frankenstein” by the British writer Mary Shelley has often been an inspiration to filmmakers of different ambitions, expressions and styles in the history of the seventh art. Dozens of films have been made inspired by the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster – from way back in 1931 and Boris Karloff as the monster through Mel Brooks’ great comedy (horror parody) “Young Frankenstein” to Robert De Niro as the monster and the rather unremarkable “Victor Frankenstein” from 2015, Mary Shelley’s novel was, to a greater or lesser extent, an inspiration to numerous directors and screenwriters…
Guillermo Del Toro started writing his Frankenstein story decades ago. Legend has it that even as a child, the famous director was enthralled by the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his Creature. During the years of waiting for Frankenstein, the Mexican filmmaker achieved a respectable career (“Hellboy”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “The Devil’s Spine”, “Blade 2″…), won an “Oscar” for “The Shape of Water”, but Frankenstein was (and remains) a wish all the time. Unlike his colleague Nolan, Del Toro is not against the realization of projects or his own ideas of the need for streaming services (the Mexican filmmaker is critical of the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking) – quite the opposite – for Netflix, Del Toro realized “Pinocchio” and the horror series “Cabinet of Wonders” (Del Toro is the screenwriter of all episodes). After the mentioned projects, “Netflix” secured a budget of 120 million dollars for the realization of the long-awaited project. “Frankenstein” directed by Del Toro has arrived…
The plot of the film takes us back to the 19th century – somewhere in the Arctic, a Danish ship, trapped by ice, is forced to stop its journey. Shortly after stopping near the ship, a wounded man appears and introduces himself as Victor Frankenstein. Injured and completely mad, Frankenstein warns the ship’s crew of the danger – a Creature that hunts and wants to punish Frankenstein. Soon, the Creature arrives with demands for the crew, i.e. the captain of the ship, and the captain begins the story about the creation of the monster and the reasons why Frankenstein became….the prey….
Although, in most cases, the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster is a sign of horror for most film lovers, the director’s vision is somewhat different, much closer to drama as the main genre determinant. Okay, the movie contains a number of horror scenes, but Del Toro wants to tell a story. More precisely, stories about two destinies that are inextricably linked. The Fates of Victor Frankenstein and The Monster That Wasn’t…
Victor Frankenstein became a scientist strongly determined by the events of his childhood (death of his mother, strict and domineering father). His obsession is, among others, defeat death and create new life – Frankenstein is not cute character – on the contrary, he is arrogant, smug, but at the same time a top scientist. Frankenstein’s main motivation and obsession with creating life has no trace of empathy for others but is a personal matter. Born in her younger days in a family environment.
Foto: Netflix
The story of Victor Frankenstein lasts about an hour – you can say or write that it is about something to a weaker chapter movie. The moment the story focuses more strongly on the Creature, or the relationship between the Creature and the Creator, the film takes an upward trajectory. A creature made up of, ahem, the parts of dozens of people (harvesting organs has a strong darkly humorous streak) shows why the director was so keen to tell the story of Frankenstein. In previous films, Del Toro often played with the beauty and purity of the protagonist’s soul, whose exterior… is, to put it mildly, less beautiful. The same is the case with the Creature – he wants to live, but his species is different. Frankenstein result of his playing God held like a slave, at the end of the story the Creator wants to destroy the Creature he created. The relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature is as complex as the depiction of the Creature. The episode with the blind old man is great (sometimes you are in danger because of your existence, not because of your actions) and Del Toro nails the story with the question – can a Creature created as a scientific experiment, made up of dozens of people become (be) more humane than the members of the human species it is surrounded by?
The film is visually attractive, sumptuous, and sometimes one regrets that it could not be seen on the big screen. However, it is quite, by the director’s standards, a modest and unimaginative appearance of the Creature. Del Toro has always been creative with creating monsters in his films – the Creature looks like a scarred man. ANDdid his appearance send a message about his origin and search for the meaning of his existence? His humanity…
Compared to the book, the story has been slightly changed – some details have been omitted, some new ones have been added. One of the new characters is Harlander, who is interpreted by Christoph Waltz. Waltz is solid, but it’s hard to escape the impression that Waltz only shines in Quentin Tarantino’s films with his full acting brilliance. In fact, the entire cast is solid in the good moments, but none of the performances are…top notch.
“Frankenstein” by Guillermo Del Toro, for the most part, did not disappoint expectations. Although it is a work that does not belong to the director’s best films, it is an emotional, layered portrayal of a man who wants, among other things, to defeat death and a Creature who struggles with his own identity and the meaning of his own existence. Del Toro touches on a series of eternal human themes, his film is visually powerful and the whole story, despite the surface on which there is fear and suffering, is emotional and human…