Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Written for the Screen, Produced & Directed by Guillermo del Toro
NETFLIX is the bane of existence. I utterly loathe that streamer, despise that company and curse their algorithm/business model with every fiber of my being. Their particular brand of Streaming Slop hits even worse once you know the executives have mandates on their content, everything needs to be written and filmed for people only half paying attention on their phones. Their whole mission objective is to shut movie theaters down. Plain and simple.
So imagine my inner turmoil, while Netflix destroys the way we watch movies, they are simultaneously backing up dump trucks of money to our greatest living auteurs. Crazy ridiculous budgets that the studios wouldn't dare dream, bankrolling passion projects no one else would. The catch? It gets dumped on the streamer and into the void forever. Occasionally Netflix will play one of their new films in theaters for barely a week, just to qualify for Academy Awards. Today, Visionary mastermind Guillermo del Toro finally gets to do his lifelong passion project, an adaptation of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN.
Far from perfect, this is EPIC. A melodramatic Gothic fable, violent and scary, with beauty found everywhere. Oscar Isaac stars as Victor F., the brilliant and egotistical scientist hellbent on creating life from death. Isaac, with his handsome strong nose/chin, gorgeous mop of hair and an intense stare, is no surprise an excellent presence.
What is surprising, the biggest shock even, is Jacob Elordi as The Creature. He brings so much heart and soul into the terrifying monster. The physicality of his performance, as we watch him learn everything new, is completely mesmerizing. But then he brings so much pain and sorrow, a truly beautiful and heartbreaking performance. Shakespearean in its tragedy.
Gorgeous sets, and some beautiful costumes but the entire film is plagued with distractingly bad CGI and even worse green screen work. The shoddy Netflix special effects and occasionally weird editing sometimes makes this feel like a BBC adaptation you watch at home, not a $120 million blockbuster. This is no nitpick, the special effects are really bad!
You know what else is bad? Mia Goth. As the fiancee of Victor's brother, GDT does her NO favors. In a clocky bad wig and ugly dresses, her underwritten character is supposed to bring some soul into the scene but she is not a capable performer. Sorry not sorry but I am not on the PEARL bandwagon.
Warts and all, 2025 GDT Netflix Frankenstein delivers. Scary and spooky and ooky, incredibly violent and gorey, beauty in its tragedy. So happy our favorite Mexican uncle got to make his movie and I can't wait to see what he does next.
☆☆☆1/2 out of 4
