The new Frankenstein film by Guillermo Del Toro delivers. It is an excellent retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic novel published in 1818. The basic story is there with some changes as is typical with films emanating from a literary source.
Oscar Isaac is excellent as the Doctor. Jacob Elordi is great as the Monster. The make up effects are outstanding. The story is suspenseful and full of drama with creepy elements.
This is not on the level of James Whale’s 1931 classic but it is great. It needs time to be properly evaluated and to be ranked among all the films. The film does not disappoint.
Last year “Nosferatu” directed by Robert Eggers made a great impression. del Toro’s Frankenstein is another classic. In the age when movie franchises have become repetitive, the classic works of Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker continue to inspire great Cinema.
There is a lesson for Hollywood. Audiences demand well made movies even if some stories have been told before. The only real issue with the film is the monster is depicted in a much nicer way than in Mary Shelley’s book or previous films.
But even so, the film works and the Doctor himself is properly depicted as a narcissistic jerk.
The moral lesson that man should not play God remains.