Movies like Frankenstein are why I love cinema

I don’t know much about Frankenstein, just that it is a story based on a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and a humanoid creature that he gave life to, the Frankenstein’s monster that is made from the body parts of the dead. This I knew from the different iterations of these characters in other movies such as Van Helsing and I, Frankenstein. There are older movies depicting these characters but I have never seen them. When I learned that Guillermo Del Toro would be making a Frankenstein movie, I avoided all media about it as much as I could. I just knew some of the actors that would be in it, such as Oscar Issac as Victor, but other than that nothing. I didn’t need to know anymore, a director such as Del Toro making a movie based on such a character, count me in.

When I was about to watch the film a few questions popped in my head though. I recently had grown accommodated to watching movie that are often fast paced, constantly on the move, full of action or tense horror, and around the 2 hour mark. So how would I feel watching a movie around 2 hours and 30 minutes, and one that is probably slower in pace and more centred on the characters? It didn’t turn out to be an issue, probably because of Del Toro’s direction and writing.

The movie starts with a ship and its crew stuck in the ice in the northmost part of the north Atlantic. While stuck, the crew notice a fire in the distance. When they go to investigate, the find a man badly injured lying in the snow. As the move the man back to the boat to get medical attention, a creature of tall stature starts perusing them and killing any who stand in his way. The crew try to fight back but the creature seems impervious to damage. The fight is over when the captain manages to break the ice under the creature and thus sinking it in the water. The captain decides to interrogate the man he had just saved to see what is going on. We of course know that the injured man is Frankenstein and the creature his monster. So the movie starts with an exciting sequence actually, allowing us to see both main characters before getting to know them and their story. From this point on the story is told in the past from the perspectives of Frankenstein and his monster, both getting a chapter dedicated to them.

From this point on, the story has a much slower pace, focusing on the main character and their development. There are more dialogue scenes than other movies I have been seeing recently. Despite that, I barely noticed the passing of time with these scenes. Every element of every scene is used to its fullest potential to make sure you are invested in the scenes. The sets and backgrounds are grounded yet in some way artistic. Same can be said for the way the characters look and the way they are dressed. It is obviously set in a historic setting, but small touches here and there add a lot to the scenes. It is a pretty movie to look at. It is obvious that a good amount of real props and backgrounds are used in the making of the film, as Del Toro does in his movies. What CGI there is, is effective and done well. My favourite was how they created Frankenstein’s castle, an ominous building that will soon be the birthplace of a monster. It is not as visually striking as moves like Dune perhaps, but is definitely a gorgeous movie to look at and appreciate.

This is also due to the cinematography as well. Not is it just used for establishing key locations, setting the tone, shooting action/horror scenes, but it is used to keep character interactions dynamic. During dialogue the camera is often never still, it is on the move most of the time, focusing on different characters or things as the conversation continues. However, the camera does focus and remain still when it is needed, when a character is making a specific point or something in the environment is being pointed out. And of course, what good is a dialogue scenes without good actors? Oscar Issac absolutely kills it as Victor Frankenstein. He does such a good job conveying the character and his characteristics, namely his ego and god complex. He portrays the character in way that seems fitting considering the stage of life that Victor is in. Oscar Issac is an amazing actor and is being directed by an amazing director, so no wonder the results are so good. One thing that I wasn’t sure about going into this movie was the performance of Jacob Elordi, the actor that would be playing Frankenstein’s monster. I had never heard of him before and had never seen any of his acting, so I wasn’t sure how he’d fit as the monster. It took some time, but after the birth of the monster, when we actually get to see Jacob act, he started to grow on me. My doubts and worries went away completely after watching Jacob’s acting for a bit. It reached a point where I consider his acting and portrayal on the same level as Oscar Issac. There are so many little things about his acting that I appreciated. The way he was talking shortly after birth, and the way his way of speech evolved as he started learning words and how to talk was very organic and believable. Then there is his movement, specially after the monster is born. There is something obviously unnatural about it. While this creature seems to be innocent and pure, the way it walks, the posture it has, his mannerisims, they create an uncomfortable feeling. This is not just in us, but also in his creator, which helps sell how Victor would come to hate his creation. This too is something that evolves with the character, but something that never goes away. The monster starts to walk, run and move better, but still not in the same way as you would expect a normal human being. After thinking about it, I started seeing why Elordi was chosen for this role other than just his acting. Jacob Elordi is nearly 2m tall, standing taller than pretty much everyone around him in the movie. He doesn’t have a big physique, but he is intimidating nevertheless. This intimidation is also the result of the seamless prosthetics and makeup on the actor, something consistent with Del Toro’s movies and his love for real effects and props.

Other than Jacob Elordi, every other positive thing about the movie were things that I was expecting, considering the director and the cast involved. However, there were things that caught me completely by surprise. These were the tone and themes of the movie. I was under the impression that this movie was going to be mainly horror. While there are elements of horror in some of the scenes, the movie was not really scary, it didn’t feel like a horror movie. The focus of the movie was not how scary the monster or his birth is, but rather what the implications are. Not just for Victor, but for the monster as well, as he is a creature that cannot die or be killed and that cannot live among mankind normally either. As wired as it might sound, this felt like a romance movie. Not a love movie centred around a couple and their relationship, but rather one related to our urning to be loved and the tragedy that can come from it. There are other smaller things that are setup earlier in the movie and are paid off towards the end, some of them related to the romance while other related to forgiveness and the nature of things.

I read something that I think encapsulates very well this movie: “This is the first Frankenstein movie that actually tells the f-ing story”. The movie is more than just the monster and how scary he is, it is about the characters and through them it explore themes that are essential to the story. Other than doing a fantastic job with the story, it is Guillermo Del Toro movie after all. It has fantastic real effects and CGI, it is artistic in its presentation, and it oozes passion and love.