You would think with as much clout and good will Guillermo del Toro has racked up in Hollywood, he would’ve been able to make his self proclaimed dream project “Frankenstein” sooner. He’s said it’s a film he’s been wanting to make for 25 years, pouring every single piece of himself as a filmmaker into the passion of the story that – of course gothic horror shouts loudly in his ear – more than resonates with his sensibilities. What transpires is a bit of a mixed bag; passion operating without necessary restraint, and some Netflix overlays that hinder the otherwise magnificent production design.
Like most blank check projects, “Frankenstein” is every tendency, every indulgence, every big idea to ever float around in del Toro’s head spilled out onto the screen. Some of it works brilliantly; the gothic aesthetic a perfect pairing for what he does best, the life injected into the tragedy from some of his inspired casting, and some narrative choices that really tie the room together.
But some of it fails hard; the Netflix sheen all but covering up the exquisite practical set design, horrendous CGI that looks way too regressive for something so big and so expensive, and the misguided attempt to capture the whole of Mary Shelly’s work into an overlong, sometimes repetitive story. “Frankenstein” is an emotionally powered blockbuster thematically bursting with hubris and humanity but held back by its own streaming partner. I know we keep having this conversation, but it keeps rearing its ugly head with every new release and I just can’t sit idly by and say nothing about it. It is incredibly distracting, holding this film back from greatness. It’s all of del Toro’s strengths and weaknesses rolled into one very long story, one that needs a little more refinement and a different studio behind it to guide del Toro’s bold vision into a more effective vision.
“Frankenstein” nails the gothic horror elements most of the time, delivering a lavish epic fit for the big screen and wrestling with monsters, creation, life and death and humanity with intention and reverence for Shelly’s thematically rich text. Del Toro’s passion is all over the page, and some of the production design and cinematography is simply marvelous and visceral, a true sight to behold. Though overlong and a bit jumbled as it tells the same story from multiple perspectives, it is not without it’s standouts and life injections. While Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein is quite good, it’s Jacob Elordi that steals the show and shines the brightest. There’s plenty of recognizable names that all do what they can with what little they’re often given; Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance are all right at home in the macabre world, but it’s Elordi who stands tall (literally) above all of them and jolts the film with the same electricity that brought him to life.
Elordi’s monster (don’t be gross) is the true lynchpin, turning in an incredibly physical and emotional performance packed with a ton of nuance and empathy and humanity to what we reject simply because we don’t understand. His story comes late – about an hour into the film – but once he arrives and takes over the narration, “Frankenstein” really starts to come alive (pun intended) and transforms into the riveting, tragic tale we’ve always remembered the story becoming. I’m an economy passenger on the Elordi train, not ready nor willing to upgrade to a first class ticket yet. But his work here has me exploring more options to strap myself to the rocket and buy all the stock. It’s really amazing what he does here, giving himself over fully to the role and disappearing entirely in mind, body, and spirit into The Creature. He comes at the best time too, right as “Frankenstein” starts to drag and get away from itself a bit. Elordi’s performance anchors everything here and because we end with his story, del Toro saved the best for last and ends up landing the plane.
Without this, “Frankenstein” would most likely crumble under its own weight, unable to manage its abundance and blind desires in a way the feels wholly satisfying. There’s a wastefulness that comes with ultimate creative freedom, and while this is by no means “Megalopolis” levels of that, they do share some bones in their unfettered approaches. Thankfully del Toro is guided by source material, which provides at least some guardrails to keep things moving forward with coherence. It’s just so unfortunate the digital slop permeates so much of the otherwise excellent visuals, overshadowing the strong production design work from Tamara Deverell to fit the Netflix streaming look. What’s the point of building giant practical sets like Victor’s lab – equipped with giant cables and tall floor to ceiling electrical generators surrounded by a decreped castle on a rainy, stormy night if you’re just going to digitalize every frame and color grade it to levels that all but eliminate any sense of geography?
It’s a problem that shouldn’t exist in something like “Frankenstein,” especially considering how much del Toro pours himself into it. del Toro isn’t above using CGI in his films, but for the first time in a while you can see it everywhere, the blending of practical and digital imbalanced and in some instances downright ugly. del Toro is not a “we’ll fix it in post” kind of filmmaker, and this film has far too many scenes and shots with that look and feel, and for as long as it is that becomes more and more noticeable and eventually starts to be distracting.
There’s more than enough in “Frankenstein” to come away from it dazzled and blown away, and I won’t fault anyone who doesn’t get hung up on silly things like terribly rendered CGI wolves. Seriously, my guy – what the fuck? There may not be a justification for yet another version of a timeless tale, but for all its faults “Frankenstein” still sits as a cinematic experience to behold even if it makes some stumbles along the way. Elordi is truly the best part of it all, and makes the film worth the effort.
“Frankenstein” is good, but it should be better.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Frankenstein” is playing in select theaters October 17th, and streaming on Netflix November 7th. You can watch the trailer below.
