• Release year: 2025
• Director: Guillermo del Toro.
• Producers: J. Miles Dale, Guillermo del Toro, and Scott Stuber.
• Screenplay by: Guillermo del toro.
• Cinematography by: Dan Laustsen.
• Music by: Alexandre Desplat.

Shotgun Commentary: sweet cinematic version of Shelley’s sci-fi horror classic.

Review

Frankenstein is yet another adaptation of Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”, the first sci-fi novel ever written. As expected from a del Toro production, this adaptation is made with special care and compassion for the creature. The director’s love for beings usually considered “monsters” is widely known, and his kind vision towards them never fails to warm your heart and feed your mind, regardless of how many times you might have heard the same story beforehand.

The tea

For those of you living under a rock or allergic to gothic classics, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is a man who obsesses over conquering death early on in his life as a result of his mother’s untimely passing. As an adult, he becomes a surgeon, like his unsavoury father, and manages to revive a corpse made of various chunks of other people. The creation (Jacob Elordi) has a hard life—like anyone who happens to be different in this world—and as a result, he hates Victor for “cursing” him to live… like any emo teenager, but with the terrible knowledge that his life will never, in fact, end.

After tons of drama and the death of many irrelevant extras, it all boils down to a heart-to-heart between the creator and the creature, a nice conversation in which they solve their problems… Literally, talking for thirty minutes solves the “insurmountable” hatred they have held towards each other for years. Do with that what you will.

The moral dilemma

What everyone who knows the story will tell you, probably with the same attitude men have when telling you about Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), is that Victor is the real monster of this story. This is true up to a point, and that is quite nicely reflected in the feature.

Sure, Frankenstein is a toxic, obsessive man who needs to take a chill pill and maybe go to therapy after getting a two-month-long nap, but he is also a genius. Conquering death is a brilliant achievement, specially in the field of medicine. Sure, it comes with many complications and opens the door to a brand-new world, but when has that ever stopped human progress?

The main issue the characters have with his creation is that it is “unholy”. Yet again, the Church extending its grubby little tentacles all over science. However, if you manage to put whatever beliefs based on imaginary people and a random book aside, Victor’s accomplishment isn’t evil per se, just incredibly horribly managed. A fault in the plan that is portrayed perfect by Isaac, who knows how to play unhinged people like nobody’s business.

The final touches

Last, but definitely not least, it is important to mention the wardrobe work on this one. Each and every costume is absolutely perfect, and Mia Goth definitely lives the Victorian dream in those gowns as both Elizabeth (Victor’s love interest and his brother’s fiancée) and Claire Frankenstein (Victor’s mother). Surely, Freud would have a lot to say about that, but we’ll let it rest just this once.

All in all, Frankenstein is a gorgeous film that one can watch for the subject, the acting, the soundtrack, or merely the vibe and aesthetics. Whatever it is you are looking for in a film, if it’s quality, you will find it in here.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Mistreating someone is bad, but mistreating someone who’s bigger and stronger than you is plain dumb.
• Never get between a mad man and his obsession.
• There is a massive chance that walking around a decrepit castle in a Victorian nightgown at night holding a candle might just heal you. Or not, but at least you’ll have fun trying.

What’s your take? Have you watched Frankenstein? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀