This new iteration of Frankenstein is the right adaptation in the right hands. Guillermo del Toro has poured his signature craftsmanship into a story I am surprised he hadn’t tackled sooner.
I am preaching to the choir, but Guillermo del Toro remains unmatched in his ability to turn out lavish visual cinema. Every frame feels deliberately crafted, supported greatly by the jaw-dropping production design. The vastness of rooms, spaces, and landscapes gives such grand scope to the world, but also narratively reinforces Victor Frankenstein’s isolation and descent into madness.
It’s also oftentimes grotesque, but Toro is one of the few filmmakers where he can make ickiness have gothic beauty. On the topic of beautiful, the period costuming in this film is equally as such. And finally, something that is not talked about often is color grading, but Frankenstein commands I do so. The colors do so much to create the moodiness of this film; it’s a gorgeous saturated palette of teals, ambers, and deep blacks that are stunning and atmospheric.
Now to Jacob Elordi. I’ll say it plainly: he has arrived. In my opinion, this is the performance that cements his talents. He is a commanding screen presence capable of pain, menace, and heartbreaking fragility. Not to pit actors against each other, but some of the fervor aimed at Austin Butler as Hollywood’s next great leading man should honestly be redirected, at least partially, Elordi’s way. He deserves the same chorus. Of course, he’s surrounded by a crop of dependable actors. Oscar Isaac delivers as expected, Mia Goth remains as hypnotic as ever, and Christoph Waltz is doing…well, Christoph Waltz.
Despite Frankenstein being as good as it is, I have a few misgivings. The runtime overstays its welcome, but this is come to be expected with del Toro. What I wasn’t expecting from him was the greater use of CGI versus his other projects. And this might seem like a shallow compliant, but the storytelling plays it a bit safe. You can feel Guillermo’s reverence for Shelley’s original text, which is admirable, but I hoped for just a touch more reinvention to invigorate the story.
Despite a few stumbles, Frankenstein and Guillermo del Toro are a near-perfect filmmaking match and this adaptation is worth a viewing on the artistry displayed alone.
